I think that most of us have at least heard of making Sunday a day of rest…making it holy…making it the Lord’s day. How many of us, I wonder, have ever taken that to heart and put it into action?

On the surface, it seems that we’re supposed to abstain from work on Sundays (and go to mass, of course) as a way of making time to praise God. In my opinion, though, that’s really not the idea that God had in mind. I came to this way of thinking after dabbling in the whole “take Sunday off from work” concept.

As a single mother, you know that 7 days a week are not enough to get everything done that needs doing, so how in the world can you even entertain the idea of taking one off?! I know….I know…I’m in your shoes. But, you know what? The magic is in the doing.

God is amazing and He does not get near enough credit for his intelligence (or his love for us). God teaches us through example – in the creation story, did He not rest on the 7th day?! AND…how many of us mothers have used good, old fashioned bribery (or threats even) to get our kids to do things we knew would be good for them? Perhaps this is where God was coming from when He made one of the commandments all about taking one day/week to rest:

But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work…

For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.

- Exodus 20: 10 – 11

Over the years, I’ve tried again and again to take Sundays off from “regular life.”  No housework…no client work.  I was able to accomplish that for part of a Sunday now and then, but never really felt the glory in doing that.  It was too half hearted on my part and I was too busy being anxious about what wasn’t getting done and what would have to be done the next day to make up for not doing it today.  Who can rest with thoughts like that making them a bundle of nerves?

There’s another bit of wisdom from God in the bible (yes…there’s more than just one more bit of God’s wisdom there, but this particular one I’m alluding to has to do with the message I’m trying to convey here)….

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”                                                                                 – Philippians 4:6-7

(The highlighting is mine. )

So what is God’s message to us?  He didn’t mince words so there’s no guessing involved here.

Take one day a week off from work and don’t be anxious about it!

It’s not easy.  We’re busy, busy people and, along with that, comes many worries.  Believe me, though, this commandment is for us, not for God. (waiting for lightning to strike me….)

That’s not such a scandalous idea, though, is it?  I think all the commandments are for us…everything God has taught us is for us.  He wants us to be happy and healthy and he told us exactly how to achieve both AND, by the way, living according to His will/ideas/laws will also lead us to heaven and an eternity of being happy …with Him!

It’s simple, really.  But we silly humans make it complicated.  (remember the lesson from God about becoming like little children in order to enter the kingdom of Heaven?  Little children simply trust and go with it, not second guessing or thinking they know better (that comes a bit later in life).

(I know…little children do love to say “NO!”  but I’m going to ignore that for now because it messes up my message. )

My point being….trust God.  He loves us…He’s wiser than we are…He knows and wants what’s good for us…so take Him at his word.  An “easy” way of testing that theory is to try taking Sundays off!  See what happens!

Okay, I can only speak for myself, but here’s what I noticed when I actually took a Sunday off….

I was recharged and facing another week was a bit easier.

I had fun!  Even if I didn’t actually do anything one would consider to be “fun,” I still had it.  It was fun to be forced to not do housework or client work.  I didn’t feel guilty about sitting in my favorite chair and reading a book…or a magazine (or two or three).  After all…I was on “vacation.”

This, of course, gives you more time to really focus on your kids, too.  You might even find yourself at such a loss for what to do with yourself that you seek your kids out and try to entice them to play games with you…or go for a walk…or watch a movie (or two or three).  Or perhaps you haven’t baked in a while?  Or gardened? (I love to garden so I don’t consider it to be work that I should avoid on Sunday. )

Remember, it’s your children’s day off, too. (but don’t force it on them…they learn best by example)

AND, I find that it’s also fun to look forward to the next Sunday and being able to REST!!!  When you schedule that day off each week, you find yourself preparing for it.  I have magically started doing laundry each Saturday…and doing housecleaning things…and catching up on client work.  Anything that is not completed on Saturday simply waits.  This “taking Sundays off” thing has led me to become more organized before Sunday comes. And that helps life to go more smoothly. (Ahhh…God’s wisdom at work.)

God knows what we need and, if we follow His lead, we’ll also come to an understanding of His wisdom.  It’s very cool how that works.

I wish you a lovely and work-free, anxiety-free Sunday.  ENJOY!!!

May God bring peace to us all. (He will, you know, if we trust Him)

Manya

P.S.  Let me know how YOU spent your day off!