A SLOW DAY IN CANADA

Genesis 2:2–3 NLT
On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.

[08/14/2023; iPhone 14 ProMax]

My time in Canada didn’t begin as a retreat with my father. It started as a work trip out in Spokane, Washington. When the work ended, I decided to stick around for a few extra days in Spokane, when something better began. The following day, I met up with my friends Kristina and Drew, who lived in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. It was there that I was made aware by them that the Canadian border was a short drive away. My dad met me the following morning in Spokane, and on a whim, we decided to go all out on Canada. Our drive took us from Spokane to Coeur d’Alene and north toward Canada. The miles felt unhurried. There was no agenda beyond being together, and that, in itself, felt rare and sacred. As we drove, the scenery shifted as tall trees lined the road, the landscape growing quieter and more expansive the closer we got, and inviting us to slow down and take it all in.

Rossland BC, Canada, welcomed us with quiet streets, mountain air, and a pace that invited us to slow down. We spent time at our first stop getting coffee and breakfast at Alpine Grind, and from there, went hiking on a local trail. On the hike, my father and I were letting conversation flow naturally as our steps stayed out of rhythm. The landscape did what creation often does best, it reminded us to lift our eyes, to breathe deeper, and to remember how small we are in the best way. After the hike, we shared a meal at some local spots and just enjoyed spending time together.

Lately, I’ve been trying to honor the Sabbath more intentionally, not as a rule, but as a rhythm of someone who wants loves the Lord so much and wants to obey His commandments. Genesis reminds me that rest was woven into creation itself. God didn’t rest because He was tired. He rested because rest is holy.

This time with my dad felt like practicing that truth in real life. After my work trip in Spokane ended, there was rest. In that rest from work God met us, not in anything dramatic, but in shared steps on a trail and conversations over a table.

Also recently, I’ve also been learning how fasting sharpens awareness, how it creates space for dependence and clarity. Paired with keeping the Sabbath day holy, I have been learning to deny myself for the kingdom. In Scripture, Jesus speaks of fasting not as a suggestion, but as a command. In Matthew 6 the word “when” is used as a presupposition of the life of a believer. When Jesus says “when you fast,” in Matthew 6, it means we will fast, not “if you fast.” That distinction has been shaping me, reminding me that fasting is a practice of obedience and a way of ordering my desires and training my heart to hunger first for God. When we are hungry, fasting is taking the very thing we want most at that moment, which is to eat, and actively choosing to resist it. Fasting teaches us self-control because we are acknowledging the need for food while physically denying ourselves of that need and choosing to say “I am not going to listen to the needs of my body, or the temptations of this world”, and instead saying, “Jesus, I trust You.” In that denial, my focus is realigned, and my attention is turned back toward God as my true sustenance.