Day of Rest

Awhile back, Father Patty (preserve those figs with Brandy) had an excellent sermon about honoring the Sabbath day. Now before those of you who are not Catholic tune out, I wanted to share the finer points of his sermon.

In our rush to accomplish more, we have forgotten how to relax. I know that for me personally , this is a problem. I try to squeeze in just one more project - and often that means working through Saturday and Sunday - then back to work again on Monday. I run myself ragged, then I amgenuinely surprised when I get sick - or I feel so exhauseted that I sleep fretfully, thinking of all the things I haven't gotten done yet. Sitting for three hours to watch a movie is about all the relaxing I do during the week - and frankly, working on two houses and being the mom and working a full time jobreally take it out of me. Oddly enough, when you are happy about what you are doing, it is SO much easier to just keep at it, even when you know you should rest. We have entire classes on relaxation and stress reduction. I wonder if I took that day of rest like I was supposed to, if the sterss-related symptoms would disappear. Well of course they would.

Taking a day of rest is both for our own personal health - and a way to glorify God. Think about it, if you really trust that all things are done in His time, is it really going to make a difference if you work that seventh day each week? It is so easy to come up with a valid reason to work - maybe because it is so counter-intuitive, resting has even more value. It is an outward sign of trust in His Providence.

We are missing it. The whole reason we work is to be able to spend our time away from working doing what we love - and being with people we love. When we spend all day Sunday working we miss the opportunity to spend a liesurely lunch with the kids, talking about life. We stay so spread out - each member of a family headed in his or her own direction.

Whether you believe in God or not, this idea just seems to make sense. Work, then allow yourself a chance to rejuvenate.

I have a list fo things that still need to be done - everyone worked hard today, and because I am trying to be better about allowing myself to relax, Sunday this week will be restful - and the projects will just have to wait.