About five years ago I read a book about honoring the Sabbath and loved the idea of chosing a day during the week-end that we would keep holy and rest. This was during a time that I was exhausted most of the time and had a therapist reminding me every session that I needed to slow down and rest. Week-ends were my catch-up time. It was the time we shopped, I did laundry, worked outside, cleaned, and caught up on school work.
A guy I taught with discussed his ritual one time when we were sitting together at lunch. Every Saturday he slept in, didn't use a clock, rested the whole day, prayed and fasted. I loved the idea of a day of rest, but didn't know how I could do it.
Slowly I tried to make changes. JEJ and I tried to set aside time on Sunday after church for ourselves. We would rest, take a hike, go for a drive, or do something other than work. We weren't consistent about it though. Spring would come and I would want to do yardwork. During the fall I would want to rearrange the living room. In December I would want to decorate the house for the holidays.
Last year I set a goal not to do school work on week-ends. Dragging home work always got in the way of honoring the Sabbath. It was a big step for me, but I enjoyed the quiet time at school on Friday afternoons. Everyone else left early on Friday. I stayed and organized myself and planned for the next week. That moved me closer to honoring the sabbath.
Arriving home after church, taking time for a nap, then enjoying our surroundings is how we like to spend Sunday honoring the sabbath. We just need to make it a habit, a ritual. It sure makes the work week start off on a much better note.
I am glad Raymond Pert had me revisit the idea of Sabbath. I do want to rest, reflect, rejuvenate, and keep it holy. It is the best thing I could do for myself during the week.
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