Monday, July 29, 2013

A Modern Family's Guide to Surviving the Sabbath

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30 The Message

This is the message I keep hearing. Everywhere I look, every song I like, every book I read, every message I hear...REST. You have my attention, God! I am listening!

In my previous blog post about striving, I talked about my journey toward resting in obedience rather than striving and wrestling with God for control. It really resonated with people. This is a hot topic!

One of the things my husband and I have integrated into our family life in our quest for rest and seeking obedience in our walk with the Lord is observing the Sabbath. It's an interesting topic. One that people don't really feel they need or maybe feel as though it's an option. I'm here to tell you, it is an important practice in the Christian life! If you are not currently embracing the concept of taking a Sabbath rest, I encourage you strongly to try it! Your life will never be the same and you will NOT want to go back to the way you were before.

Life is busy. This is not breaking news to you. God knew that life would be busy. And so He modeled for us a way to break through the busy-ness of life and get away from the noise long enough to hear His voice. In Genesis 2, we see where God finished His work of creation, and then took a day to rest. People argue, "I'm not doing a Sabbath because that's Old Covenant." Sabbath existed before any covenant did! The precedent was set by God Himself! Kinda hard to argue against that.

You may think that you're too busy to "waste" your time on a Sabbath day. I don't know how to explain it, but since we have committed to keeping a Sabbath day, I've been able to get more done in 6 days than I ever could in 7.

We observe our day of Sabbath on Saturday since our Sundays are full with responsibilities at church. It's a wonderful feeling to go in to our worship experiences on Sunday with a rested heart and mind!

On paper, a Sabbath sounds wonderful! All this restful time and moments spent in solitude with God and reading the Bible...Well, in practice, it's different for us as a family with young kids. Over the last year, we've worked on making the Sabbath work for a family. Here are some ideas:

- First of all, if you have young kids...it's not going to be an incredibly restful experience! Remember those pre-children Saturday naps? Sabbath or not, those days are gone. However, one thing we try to do is have our kids all either nap or sit down for a movie or some video games in the afternoon so Mom and Dad can rest a bit. It may not be a nap, but it's not chasing kids around either! It's just a season of life- later on there will be time for lazy naps. Until then, take what you can get!

- I try as best as I can to minimize housework on our Sabbath day. I try to prepare as much food as possible the day before (or, my favorite, order pizza), we use paper plates (sorry environment...we do recycle though!), and I do my best to get all laundry and similar household work done the day before. I used to get really frustrated because I found myself still cleaning up after everyone. People, give yourself permission to not get the kitchen cleaned up on your Sabbath day. The mess will be waiting for you the next day. That said though, there's no reason to get legalistic about it. If you need to fold some laundry, wash a pan, or do some yard work, do it- particularly if it's something that you enjoy (like working in your garden). The point of the day is not to get nitpicky about what constitutes "work" and what does not. The point is to prioritize engaging in restful, meaningful activities and to take a break from the normal busy schedule of life.

- Plan something fun with the family- go to the park. Go swimming. Pull out some board games. All those little things that you've been hoping to get to all week long but haven't been able to? Do those. Ask your kids for input on something fun to do as a family and do it. If you have hobbies like sports or a particular craft or art activity, incorporate those into your day.

-Try to carve out some time for solitude. This could be a challenge, but for us, the way it works is my husband and I try to give each other some downtime by trading child-watching time. The way this might work is he plays with the kids for an hour while I go for a walk in the woods, or read a book or the Bible outside on the hammock. Then, we switch.

-Above all else, use the day as a way to recall together the many blessings in your life. Slow down and watch your kids play. Put on some worship music and sing together. Put the kids to bed early and enjoy some one-on-one time with your spouse. There is no formula to this- as you go through the day, just try to keep relaxation and enjoyment as your goal.


Particularly if you have a family with small children, your day of rest may not be all that restful. But it will be a change of pace in which you can enjoy life and take a break from working and the normal routine. Our kids look SO forward to Saturday "rest day", as they like to call it. They know that they will have time to do things they enjoy and that as a family, we'll be spending time together. It's a day we look forward to and a day that makes us appreciate the love and the life that we have.

SO if you're feeling frantic and pulled apart by how busy your life feels, even though it may seem counter-intuitive, take a day to rest. You will be amazed by how the Lord responds to your obedience to this necessary and highly enjoyable commandment. And you'll be amazed at how truly rested you feel!

1 comment:

  1. Ah, yes.

    I feel like the Lord has been speaking to me on this, too. Especially when it comes to my home....and how I never ever ever ever take a rest from tending it....out of pride and performance, really.

    Thank you so much for speaking truth.

    We try to have a Sabbath meal every week. It usually ends up being on Saturday night for us. I cook something a little heavier....something everyone really enjoys with dessert and all - and we fix the table all nice - and we eat and discuss and sometimes have a lesson. Our kids love it. I need to be more purposed in protecting that time, though. So THANK YOU for sharing.

    Grateful for you,
    Kate :)

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