DAYS OF REST
The last month has been a combination of busy activities and vacation time. March and April had been very intense at work and I too two weeks vacation at the beginning of May. But that time off work only began the recovery.
All of which got me to thinking about how we treat weekends and vacations.
My job is full time, five days a week. But come the weekend, I often have activities scheduled that have me running about, meeting people, filling up the hours with “stuff to do.”
What happened to the Day of Rest?
When I was young, my father tended to discourage activity on Sundays. He cultivated a leisruely attitude for that day. Sometimes we would dine out for lunch after church and then go for long drives through the Michigan countryside. He also liked to take naps on Sunday afternoons. But to me, it was just something my father did.
That is, until recently. I’m one who easily stays up week-nights – writing, websurfing. So I go through the week on less then ideal amounts of sleep. A nap on Sundays has become an important catch-up time. for me.
But beyond that, I’ve also come to realize how I sometimes use the activity of Going To Church as a way to avoid facing God. “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.” Is it holy to attend to the public activity of worship and yet not spend real time with the Lord?
When vacations and weekends become as unrestful as the rest of our life, what good does it do us? Not much. There is a physical and mental reason for securing one day in seven for rest, and for meeting God. When I’m on the regular schedule, I will talk to God. Or more specifically at Him. “Lord, take care of this and that. And watch out for these people, providing for them. And please Lord, can I have a parking spot near the apartment when I get home?” But one has to be at rest, stopped to actually hear Him, to hear His possible responses to all the requests. But if we never stop, will we ever hear Him? Only on those few occasions when He breaks through. What do we miss when we forgo the Day of Rest?
The last month has been a combination of busy activities and vacation time. March and April had been very intense at work and I too two weeks vacation at the beginning of May. But that time off work only began the recovery.
All of which got me to thinking about how we treat weekends and vacations.
My job is full time, five days a week. But come the weekend, I often have activities scheduled that have me running about, meeting people, filling up the hours with “stuff to do.”
What happened to the Day of Rest?
When I was young, my father tended to discourage activity on Sundays. He cultivated a leisruely attitude for that day. Sometimes we would dine out for lunch after church and then go for long drives through the Michigan countryside. He also liked to take naps on Sunday afternoons. But to me, it was just something my father did.
That is, until recently. I’m one who easily stays up week-nights – writing, websurfing. So I go through the week on less then ideal amounts of sleep. A nap on Sundays has become an important catch-up time. for me.
But beyond that, I’ve also come to realize how I sometimes use the activity of Going To Church as a way to avoid facing God. “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.” Is it holy to attend to the public activity of worship and yet not spend real time with the Lord?
When vacations and weekends become as unrestful as the rest of our life, what good does it do us? Not much. There is a physical and mental reason for securing one day in seven for rest, and for meeting God. When I’m on the regular schedule, I will talk to God. Or more specifically at Him. “Lord, take care of this and that. And watch out for these people, providing for them. And please Lord, can I have a parking spot near the apartment when I get home?” But one has to be at rest, stopped to actually hear Him, to hear His possible responses to all the requests. But if we never stop, will we ever hear Him? Only on those few occasions when He breaks through. What do we miss when we forgo the Day of Rest?
posted by Sarah | 10:46 PM
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