I blogged this exact topic just five months ago. See? But I want to talk about it again, and it's my blog, so sorry...
In my three year old Sunday School class yesterday, we did a lesson on Creation. We talked about all of the wonderful gifts God gave us - water, the sun and moon and stars, living creatures, etc. And then, we talked about the last gift that God gave us: a day of rest. He gave us this day, so that we may use it to reflect on and be thankful for all of the other gifts we are given.
It's so hard to take off Sundays, isn't it? It's so easy to use Sunday as a day to catch up on everything that didn't get done the rest of the week. It's easy to say "phew!" on Saturday and spend the day chilling out, after a long hard week, leaving the laundry and car cleaning and checkbook balancing for Sunday afternoon. It's easy to commit to doing just one more thing, knowing that you have Sunday night to cram in that work. When I worked for a big law firm, I went back to work every Sunday afternoon (while Sophia napped and baby Amelia played on a blanket on my office floor) and put in another 5 or 6 hours of work.
But what if we really do think of Sundays as a gift? By not taking Sundays off, we are saying "no thank you." We're saying "God, I really appreciate that you think I can take this day to rest, and I know you made the whole Earth and then took a day off, but you see, I am soooo important and soooo busy that I can't possibly."
Really?!
No, not really. We are all busy, important, over-scheduled, over-committed. But we're not, none of us, so busy or important that the world will come to an end if we take off a day. And the thing is, God knew what He was doing. We need a day off. We need to stop and reflect and praise and be thankful. We need to let the pace of life slow down, so we can re-focus before the next week begins. We need to rest.
Am I perfect at this? No. Did I panic and throw school uniforms in the washer at 11:30 p.m. last night? Yes. But I do try and try and try. I go into the weekend knowing what needs to be done, and I strive to get it done on Saturday. I very rarely make any plans for Sunday afternoons, because I know after church I will be happy. I love the rhythm and pace of my thoughts, the perspective on the big picture, that I have on Sunday afternoons. And so I prefer to spend them at home, or at the park or on a walk, with my family. For all the times I lose my patience, my temper, my cool, during the week, for all the times I end up yelling at someone because Henry has leaves in his mouth that someone tracked in, Sundays are my redemption.
Yesterday afternoon, the kids and I went to the playground. It was gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous outside - finally a real Fall day! It was sunny and breezy and low 70's. All three kids loved the swings (my favorite too, even now!) and we met new friends and saw old friends. We were just there. We rested in the moment. And by doing so, we were remembering to be thankful for being given that moment. We were letting the stress of the week past wash away. And we came into this new week refreshed.
In my three year old Sunday School class yesterday, we did a lesson on Creation. We talked about all of the wonderful gifts God gave us - water, the sun and moon and stars, living creatures, etc. And then, we talked about the last gift that God gave us: a day of rest. He gave us this day, so that we may use it to reflect on and be thankful for all of the other gifts we are given.
It's so hard to take off Sundays, isn't it? It's so easy to use Sunday as a day to catch up on everything that didn't get done the rest of the week. It's easy to say "phew!" on Saturday and spend the day chilling out, after a long hard week, leaving the laundry and car cleaning and checkbook balancing for Sunday afternoon. It's easy to commit to doing just one more thing, knowing that you have Sunday night to cram in that work. When I worked for a big law firm, I went back to work every Sunday afternoon (while Sophia napped and baby Amelia played on a blanket on my office floor) and put in another 5 or 6 hours of work.
But what if we really do think of Sundays as a gift? By not taking Sundays off, we are saying "no thank you." We're saying "God, I really appreciate that you think I can take this day to rest, and I know you made the whole Earth and then took a day off, but you see, I am soooo important and soooo busy that I can't possibly."
Really?!
No, not really. We are all busy, important, over-scheduled, over-committed. But we're not, none of us, so busy or important that the world will come to an end if we take off a day. And the thing is, God knew what He was doing. We need a day off. We need to stop and reflect and praise and be thankful. We need to let the pace of life slow down, so we can re-focus before the next week begins. We need to rest.
Am I perfect at this? No. Did I panic and throw school uniforms in the washer at 11:30 p.m. last night? Yes. But I do try and try and try. I go into the weekend knowing what needs to be done, and I strive to get it done on Saturday. I very rarely make any plans for Sunday afternoons, because I know after church I will be happy. I love the rhythm and pace of my thoughts, the perspective on the big picture, that I have on Sunday afternoons. And so I prefer to spend them at home, or at the park or on a walk, with my family. For all the times I lose my patience, my temper, my cool, during the week, for all the times I end up yelling at someone because Henry has leaves in his mouth that someone tracked in, Sundays are my redemption.
Yesterday afternoon, the kids and I went to the playground. It was gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous outside - finally a real Fall day! It was sunny and breezy and low 70's. All three kids loved the swings (my favorite too, even now!) and we met new friends and saw old friends. We were just there. We rested in the moment. And by doing so, we were remembering to be thankful for being given that moment. We were letting the stress of the week past wash away. And we came into this new week refreshed.
2 comments:
Taking a day of rest is so important...but I sometimes struggle with that too. Mamas are busy, and it takes discipline to rest!
It's really true...and for us (a pastor's family) it's really hard - but Sunday afternoons are the BEST!...
Post a Comment