Friday, June 14, 2013

Keeping the Sabbath


by Deanna

The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. – Luke 4:2


Where did the day of rest go?  Whether your religious tradition observes Saturday (the original Sabbath) or Sunday, or even if in your tradition there is no day of rest at all, we all need a Sabbath.  We all need a day of rest – not a shopping, catching up on work, or running all over the place on errands, but a day of rest, a day of doing nothing.  I remember when stores began staying open on Sundays, back then I thought oh wonderful, now we can shop on Sundays, but now I think Hobby Lobby has the right idea by staying closed on Sundays….probably the only large retail store around that does.

A recent Sunday newspaper comic strip, Greg Howard’s Sally Forth, featured an agenda for Sunday’s

THINGS TO DO ON SUNDAY

    Have a cup of coffee


    Gaze into the distance


    Read 


    Stretch

    Have a glass of wine




The essence of the traditional Sabbath is to celebrate one’s spiritual practice and to rest from work. 

For some working in the yard or garden is not really work, but pleasure, as it is for me.

For others, an outing with the family or friends (not to the shopping center) is a way to rest.  Remember the good ole Sunday drives?  My Mother’s Sunday would consist of church services in the morning, out for a nice breakfast, return home to read the newspaper and get ready to watch her favorite sports team, The Dallas Cowboys.  No work for her, other than to root for her favorite team. 


However, if you’re like me, you hear yourself saying, “Fine, but when am I supposed to get the chores done?”  Sometimes you have to settle for a partial Sabbath.  Find a chore you can skip this week and take a couple of hours on Sunday morning with coffee and the newspaper or a Saturday afternoon’s long walk in the park.

This week rejuvenate your Sabbath observance.  No work….at least for part of the day. 





8 comments:

Carol said...

AMEN!

Sarah Huizenga said...

I remember Sunday drives. It is so sad that many of those traditions have become lost.

kelly said...

oh i needed to hear this today as i was starting my list of things to-do. will take a few things off to allow for some rest this weekend. :)

heyjudephotography said...

Yes, Sunday drives...my family did that all the time. Your images make me want to curl up with a good book and gaze into the distance. Busy busy weekend coming up though - Father's Day and my husband's birthday on the same day. Maybe my rest will come next weekend????

Dotti said...

It's sad ... but true. Our lifestyles have become much too frenetic ... and we're worse off for it. This is much-needed advice for all of us, I'm sure. Actually ... how about a sabbath week?

Kim Stevens said...

My grandparents surely knew what that meant, I used to love long drives in the car with them and their oohs and ahhs over the scenery. I still love a good drive in the car. In fact, I'm taking a sabbatical from my blog for the next couple of weeks to do just this....life has just been a little more than hectic lately.

terriporter said...

A day of rest. Wow, that sounds so awesome! I know I do it to myself but I don't rest easily so I have to force it but when I do, oh my! So worth it! Deanna, your photos are stunning! I want to crawl into that hammock, read a good book and have a cup of coffee or a glass of wine by my side. Sounds like a little slice of heaven!

CarolHart said...

Such a wonderful post Deanna and a timely reminder for us all. I too remember when most stores were closed on Sundays and the family would take a long drive. Our family would take a drive to the pier, an hour long journey, buy breaded and fried shrimp from one of the vendors and hang out on a picnic bench facing the water. Whenever life gets to be a bit too overwhelming for me, I go to the water, sit on a bench and stare at the water. Calms me right down!

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