Growing up on sailboats there was a focus to our sailing time that may seem odd. Yes, the wind and water patterns were important, the weather forecast, and in the Chesapeake Bay, notorious for shoals, the current depth were all important. But also important was the status of the battery. You always needed reserve capacity to start the engine. And if sailing at night, one of the best times to sail, you need running lights and instruments. So battery management was important.
For ocean voyagers the use of a small windmill located off the stern can be a means to recharge the battery. And now, solar panels can be incorporated into the design with ever increasing efficiency.
New battery types have also had an effect. It used to be that wet cell lead-acid batteries were the only choice. Now AGM and Lithium are options, each with their pros and cons. Each of these types adapts to extreme temperatures differently. And each handle a draw down of power differently. Even thought the limits are different, extreme heat and extreme cold affect the battery. And regardless of type, even with their different limits, each battery has only so much capacity to give before it is a large paper weight.
Battery management, and battery maintenance, can mean the difference between getting home safely and writing a story that you wish you would never have to tell.
This is not unlike our own energy reserves. Extremes in stress and anxiety affect us just as extremes in temperature affect a battery. And as much as we think that we are invincible, we only have so much capacity in reserve.
Generally speaking, having worked from home when I owned my own business, I am not very good at battery maintenance. On more than one occasion I have had to essentially recharge what appeared to be a dead battery. I suspect that I am not alone in this.
God foresaw this problem. Humankind wants to do too much, so God reminds us to rest on the Sabbath day.
I have been to youth soccer games, and that is not restful. I have been to pro football games, and that is not restful (for the record 1 pro football game, Eagles, and 3 pro baseball games, Orioles) They may be fun, they may be rejuvenating, but they are not restful.
God invites us into a Sabbath rest. This is not so that we do 7 days worth of tasks in 6, we are to work 6 days and rest on the 7th. Adding to the load of the other 6 days defeats the purpose of the 7th day; we, like the battery only have a finite capacity - a capacity for 6 days of work and then a day of rest.
As our Jewish brothers and sisters prepare for the Sabbath there comes a moment, when the Sabbath envelops the household, and then all work stops. What is done is done, what is not done is not done, 6 days of work complete and the Sabbath envelops the household.
Shabbat Shalom.
God be with you until we meet again.
Fr. Henry+
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