Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Keeping the Sabbath

Have no fear, this is not some super conservative post but rather, just something that has been on my mind and that my husband and I have conducted some great conversations concerning.

Depending on how old you are, you may remember a day when everything was closed on Sundays.  It was considered a day of rest - for everyone.  There are still areas - generally small towns - where they are basically shut down on Sunday but if you have a big box store or any major restaurants, you know that they are open pretty much 365 days a year. 

I can't remember what recent holiday occurred where I began thinking about people who work on those holidays.  I realized that if no one shopped on those days, the stores would not have a reason to be open.  Since that time, I have tried to avoid shopping on holidays that the rest of us enjoy as an "off" day.  That was step one of my plan. 

A few months later, my husband and I were talking about never seeming to have a day to do nothing which brought our conversation to what I did as a kid growing up in a pastor's home.  As I explained that we didn't do "anything" - it wasn't a work day - I was also able to explain how church was not a burden when you didn't feel that you also had another 3-4 hours of work to do when you got home.  Light bulbs started going off above both of our heads.  We made a verbal and mental decision to finish all of our work by Saturday - everything from grocery shopping to mowing the grass - so that on Sunday, we could enjoy church, come home, relax, and do what we "felt" like doing (I.e. watching TV, reading, working on a hobby, going for a walk as a family etc).  It feels so good to have a day of "rest"; a day of no pressure.  We realized that this goes a step further because, once again, if people took a Sunday as a day of rest, all of those places that are open, wouldn't have any business and those workers would also not have to work on Sunday. 

Now, please understand, I know that I am one person - but this is something I am working on personally.  Even this past weekend, my original plan was to go to the store on Sunday after getting home from being out of town.  As Darryl and I talked about it, he made a good point . . he said "I guess it all comes down to how important it is to you to not do those things on a Sunday as to whether we go to the store tonight (Sat) or tomorrow".  Instantly, I knew, I did NOT want to go on Sunday - so we made a quick run to the store after we got home.  I plan to continue to stick by this guideline I'm creating for myself and to teach my children the importance of taking a day to relax.

Trust me, I'm sure there will be days that we run to the store, get gas, or grab something to eat on a Sunday - but it will be something that we truly think through and say "do I really need to do this today". 

Do you have something that challenges you to make a change? Feel free to share!