REST

It’s happened again; time has gone by so quickly I feel as though I was standing still and it just whipped right by me!  The moon now greets me when I awaken and just a few short weeks ago it was the sun.  Some mornings are wet with dew and there has even been some light fog in the early hours of the day.  The sun says goodbye too soon in the evening and it’s obvious that autumn days are right around the corner.  I love the changing of the seasons, it just seems they follow very closely to each other these days!

A little over a year ago I believe God impressed something upon me to share with a group of people and I was disobedient.  The appropriate time didn’t present itself, I wasn’t sure I really heard Him right, what if I don’t say it correctly…..you know, I used all the excuses you have used before!  Then this summer I attended the Deeper Still conference in Louisville, Kentucky and Priscilla Shirer spoke on the same thing God had said to me.  And that wasn’t the end of it.  Just a few weeks later my Pastor shared the same thought with several of us.  Guess my excuse of not hearing was blown out of the water because I wasn’t the only one being told!

The thought was about the Sabbath.  Not in the legalistic form when it has to be a certain day or time period spent in a particular way.  It was that we really don’t take one anymore – and we need to.  I don’t intend to debate the details of an Old Testament Sabbath or what is the true Sabbath day or what makes a Sabbath day holy, I just want to remind us that we need to take one.

It seems as though we feel guilty if we rest.  If we aren’t doing something we must be lazy and therefore unproductive and therefore non-contributing and therefore unnecessary.  We have fooled ourselves into thinking busier is better. If we don’t take advantage of every opportunity coming down the pike we’ll miss out on something that might make us smarter, richer, more capable, more popular or more important.  We seem to have a phobia about slowing down.

For some reason we feel we are better parents when we’re ‘on-the-go’ and our kids are involved in…. well, stuff. If the only time you play as a family is when it’s an organized sports event, you’re missing a tremendous aspect of enjoying each other.  A family ballgame in the backyard can be just as valuable to your kids as 3 months on a team elsewhere. We need to model relaxation to our children because if we don’t we’re going to create a generation that’s even more stressed than this one and I don’t think that’s a legacy we want to leave.

I’m not advocating sitting on the porch all day once a week and watching the grass grow!  I’m not sure I can tell you what to do with your Sabbath day because your daily schedule is different than mine. Our society is no longer structured so that we all do the same thing on the same day and businesses all stay closed on Sunday so our Sabbath rest will be different from each other.  I just believe we need to give ourselves permission to have a day, preferably once a week, where we are not on-the-go from morning till night.  We may need to adjust and change how we do our chores or grocery shopping and routine tasks.  What is enjoyable and relaxing to you may be just the opposite for me.  What God requires of you may be different than what He wants from me.  However, one thing is true, if it’s to be a real Sabbath, a little extra quiet time with The Savior will make it complete.

If Sunday is a workday for you, choose another day of the week to relax. For years our family has enjoyed having one day a week where we didn’t work at our vocation.  We may have worked around the house, or spent the day away from home doing any number of things.  We turned tasks into outings and gave ourselves permission not to ‘do’ ministry just one day of the week.  We often enjoyed a family breakfast or a slower paced day.  I have been so grateful Eric and I saw the need for this type of day in our lives and made it a habit.

Ask God how He would have you enjoy this gift of the Sabbath He’s given you then follow through – instead of making excuses!

They must realize that the Sabbath is the Lord’s gift to you.   Exodus 16:29