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!
