Tonight at dinner, I proposed to my family that tomorrow, we practice Sabbath."But I have homework!" shrieked Natalie with alarm.
Ah yes. There is always an obstacle to rest and delight, isn't there? But as our pastor pointed out last week, information alone doesn't bring transformation. Application brings transformation.
So tomorrow, we apply. The rubber meets the road. I have celebrated Sabbath in my own way, on my own time. But as a family unit?
Never.
I am aware tomorrow will not be a day of perfection, when children miraculously get along and I bake homemade bread for lunch and Corey lets me take a long afternoon nap and we hold a 90-minute prayer meeting and devotional at bedtime.
But I do hope the day is free from striving, that the work we do -- the nitty-gritty parenting work of changing diapers and emptying cereal bowls, of packing Monday lunches and even double-checking homework -- will be marked by a spirit of thankfulness. I want to ignore the obligations and revel in the present.
And I want my family to do it with me. I am praying the spirit of Sabbath woos our hearts and creates an appetite for her weekly blessing.
Reading your posts makes me appreciate my mom and her efforts to preserve Sabbeth, even more.
ReplyDeleteEspecially in a family of shift workers.
No homework was ever done on Sunday. The yard remained unrated. The dinner was prepped (for company) the night before.
Games were often played, naps were pretty much mandatory and things moved bit slower. Not so here.Your posts are opening memories tohow things once were, and I am looking. For ways to make it work here as well