keeping Sabbath and buying sweet corn on Sunday. Yes. I did.
A week ago we stopped along the road after Sunday Church service. There was a vendor selling sweet corn and I had decided that if I saw corn for sale I would stop and purchase some for our dinner party. My parents-in-law were coming to visit and we were also entertaining our college student from Great Britain, and my mom (cuz....well, she is helpful at a dinner party and always welcome here.) Roger had put a beef brisket on his green egg smoker and I had prepped baked beans....and I thought sweet corn would be a delightful addition.
I got out of the vehicle and he smiled and said, "did you just come from church?". I said that I had and we had a conversation about church and my town and how people don't generally work on Sundays here. He was baffled and confused. He could not understand why we would choose to take a day and not work. I smiled and said that it was a lovely thing to know that I did not have to do more than necessary on Sundays, that we go to church and come home and eat and spend time together and rest on most Sundays. He seriously was just blown away. He could not understand why we would choose (not have to) this lifestyle.
In the bible, we are taught to rest on the Sabbath and Exodus 20:8 says to "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy." There were seasons of my life when I had to work on Sundays as a nurse, a waitress, etc. but I mostly tried to take a different day of the week then, to rest and do less. God was so smart that he knew we would just keep working at the daily grind if he did not specify this kind of Sabbath rest. Do less labor. Relax. Take a nap. I did that today and it was wonderful. I wanted to go for a big walk again today but I have a blister from my 3 mile walk yesterday and the day before and because it is my Sabbath rest day today, I chose to not feel guilty about doing.....less. We went to church this morning and then we made dinner and then we lounged around all afternoon watching tv and resting.......and for me, I think I kept Sabbath Holy.
I have listened for God. I have been still and quiet. I sang and prayed and read from the bible. I have watched my kids swim in the pool. I took Isaac to work because he works at a fast food place and sometimes he is scheduled to work on Sundays. When he took the job I asked him to request that on days he is scheduled for Sunday, could he please start his shift after 1pm so that we can enjoy Sunday noon meal together.....and so far that has worked out just fine.
I'm not really too worried about the rules for our Sabbath day every week. It looks different every single time. 2 weeks ago we drove to Omaha and went back-to-school shopping after church. I hope that I can always consider this a special day, a day of rest and doing less....and time apart from work and duty. Last week we prepared a feast for people we care about. This week we sent Claire off to a week at a foster care camp, via a commissioning service at a local church, then we came home and did a whole lot of nothing......next week we plan to be at my dad's in Okoboji for the weekend enjoying more family time.....
Here are some thoughts on rest from a writer named Tim Keller that I found on his website: Thus Sabbath is about more than external rest of the body; it is about inner rest of the soul. We need rest from the anxiety and strain of our overwork, which is really an attempt to justify ourselves-to gain the money or status or the reputation we think we have to have. Avoiding overwork requires deep rest in Christ's finished work for your salvation (Hebrews 4:1-10). Only then will you be able to "walk away" regularly from your vocational work and rest.
I wish I had had that statement available to me when I chatted with the roadside sweet corn seller. I wish I could have explained it that way to him.....I'm hoping that with the Holy Spirit working, that maybe the sweet corn guy got the point in spite of me.
I got out of the vehicle and he smiled and said, "did you just come from church?". I said that I had and we had a conversation about church and my town and how people don't generally work on Sundays here. He was baffled and confused. He could not understand why we would choose to take a day and not work. I smiled and said that it was a lovely thing to know that I did not have to do more than necessary on Sundays, that we go to church and come home and eat and spend time together and rest on most Sundays. He seriously was just blown away. He could not understand why we would choose (not have to) this lifestyle.
In the bible, we are taught to rest on the Sabbath and Exodus 20:8 says to "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy." There were seasons of my life when I had to work on Sundays as a nurse, a waitress, etc. but I mostly tried to take a different day of the week then, to rest and do less. God was so smart that he knew we would just keep working at the daily grind if he did not specify this kind of Sabbath rest. Do less labor. Relax. Take a nap. I did that today and it was wonderful. I wanted to go for a big walk again today but I have a blister from my 3 mile walk yesterday and the day before and because it is my Sabbath rest day today, I chose to not feel guilty about doing.....less. We went to church this morning and then we made dinner and then we lounged around all afternoon watching tv and resting.......and for me, I think I kept Sabbath Holy.
I have listened for God. I have been still and quiet. I sang and prayed and read from the bible. I have watched my kids swim in the pool. I took Isaac to work because he works at a fast food place and sometimes he is scheduled to work on Sundays. When he took the job I asked him to request that on days he is scheduled for Sunday, could he please start his shift after 1pm so that we can enjoy Sunday noon meal together.....and so far that has worked out just fine.
I'm not really too worried about the rules for our Sabbath day every week. It looks different every single time. 2 weeks ago we drove to Omaha and went back-to-school shopping after church. I hope that I can always consider this a special day, a day of rest and doing less....and time apart from work and duty. Last week we prepared a feast for people we care about. This week we sent Claire off to a week at a foster care camp, via a commissioning service at a local church, then we came home and did a whole lot of nothing......next week we plan to be at my dad's in Okoboji for the weekend enjoying more family time.....
Here are some thoughts on rest from a writer named Tim Keller that I found on his website: Thus Sabbath is about more than external rest of the body; it is about inner rest of the soul. We need rest from the anxiety and strain of our overwork, which is really an attempt to justify ourselves-to gain the money or status or the reputation we think we have to have. Avoiding overwork requires deep rest in Christ's finished work for your salvation (Hebrews 4:1-10). Only then will you be able to "walk away" regularly from your vocational work and rest.
I wish I had had that statement available to me when I chatted with the roadside sweet corn seller. I wish I could have explained it that way to him.....I'm hoping that with the Holy Spirit working, that maybe the sweet corn guy got the point in spite of me.
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