Holy Rest

Taking a Sabbath Day to rest and recharge

Rest. Time away. Time off. Self-care. Relaxing.

Sabbath. To cease. To rest.

I’m coming at you today with a topic that is fascinating and somewhat newish to me. Taking a “Sabbath Day”. Have you heard of this? Do you have a frequent “Sabbath day” in your life?

One of the first things we see God do at the very beginning of Creation is REST. He did work. And then He rested.

Genesis 2:1-3

So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. 2 On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.

Exodus 20:11

For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.

You see Jesus resting frequently during his ministry and encouraging his disciples to do the same.

Mark 6:31 NLT

Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat.

(I know some of you can relate to the being-so-busy-you-didn’t-have-time-to-eat part)

Luke 8:23 NLT

As they sailed across, Jesus settled down for a nap. But soon a fierce storm came down on the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in real danger.

We see that even in the midst of chaos Jesus found time to take a nap!

Jesus says in Matthew 11:28-29 NLT

 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

I could share other verses about rest but for the sake of brevity, I’ll stop here. My point is this: God wants us to rest. He knows we are too busy, weary and overwhelmed. There is a host of scientific studies and information that showcases the health benefits of regular rest and time “off”.

I have really been convicted to schedule intentional rest into my life in 2022. What does this look like? If you’re like me, you find “resting” actually hard. My mind is always buzzing. I usually fall into bed at night after going going going all day. I find that this type of living makes mama very grouchy, resentful and not pleasant. Eventually, I end up taking it out on my family.

I’ve always felt that I needed to “earn” rest. That if I didn’t check off a bunch on my to-do list on any given day it wasn’t a productive or “good” day. It’s been hard for me, as a stay-at-home mom and homemaker, to ever feel like I’ve gotten “enough done” each day. Can you relate?

Dear Reader, repeat WITH me: I do NOT have to earn rest!! I DO NOT HAVE TO EARN REST!

Ceasing, resting, taking time off IS productive. It’s vital to our well-being. It’s vital to our mental health, our physical health and the health of our relationships. I am a much better mom, wife, friend and ministry leader when I’m rested and recharged.

A few weeks ago, with these words in mind, I decided I was going to schedule a weekly day of rest for myself, and I encouraged my husband to do the same. I wanted us to take time not only for ourselves as individuals but also make a plan to spend more intentional connecting time as a family without doing home maintenance, chores or discussing family issues that would get someone all riled up.

I decided my Sabbath was going to be on Saturdays and goshdarnit I was going to spend time doing whatever the heck I wanted. I wasn’t going to do one single ounce of work. I wasn’t going to fold one shirt, cook anything elaborate and it was going to be disposable dishes all the live long day. I was going to spend time with my family sitting around in the living room on the TV, doing something fun or going up to my room and watching a show by myself or doing whatever I wanted.

Well…….

Well.

That backfired quickly. It was the most stressful, frustrating, NOT day off I’ve ever had. I was not relaxed. Not even a little bit. I have 2 working teens on Saturdays who work different shifts and one needs driving. A son who plays basketball on Saturdays. We have church events on Saturdays. My kids get invited to things on Saturdays. My kids’ friends come over on Saturdays.

Saturdays. Are. Not. Relaxing.

I was annoyed first at my family for not wanting to do anything I thought was “fun” and then mad at them for interrupting me while I was trying to “relax” in my bedroom with TV or a book. While I was in my bedroom all I could think of was how not relaxed I was and how I was totally wasting time trying to figure out WHAT I wanted to do to “relax”. And geez…. what was that noise downstairs? What are they doing?? Is someone going to see what the dogs are barking at?? I don’t know what’s for lunch yet!!! And on and on it went. I finally said “ Forget this!” and stopped trying to force myself to Sabbath that day. I figured out that Saturdays are NOT a good day off for this mama. I would have to find a weekday when everyone is at school and work to actually take a day of rest.

Back to the drawing board. I read up more on how other people Sabbath. I asked Facebook. I got a lot of good feedback. I journaled. I listened to podcasts. Read more articles on this topic. I prayed. I talked more about it with Mike. Here’s what I’ve learned so far on creating a day of rest for myself.

1. Ease into it. I went all gung-ho and wrote in “Sabbath” on every Saturday for weeks ahead on my calendar. That was a mistake. Intentional rest is actually hard to schedule and hard to effectively implement right off the bat. So, I decided to start out with ONE mid-week Sabbath day a month to start. My end goal is to have one day a week of intentional rest. I’m not quite sure, yet, if it will be the same day of the week each time or what. Flexibility is important for me at this stage.

2. Prepare my mind, spirit and home for my Sabbath.

   I cannot enjoy time off if I’m looking at clutter or an unfinished project or there’s any sense of urgency surrounding that day. I’m going to have to intentionally take care of anything “urgent”, not schedule appointments, make the house presentable and check anything off my to-do list that will create stress before my Sabbath day. I also need to make sure anything pressing for my family is taken care of beforehand and everyone is aware of what is happening that day so we are all on the same page. Make sure immediate laundry is taken care of, errands for that day are done earlier in the week, meal plan that day is simple and I can see the surfaces I want to use, should I choose to use them during my time off. I want to approach my Sabbath day with prayer and asking for God to give me his rest and mind that day. I want to approach it with joy and a thankful heart.

3. Figure out the how and the what. How am I going to spend my time on my day off? What am I going to do? Will it be doing nothing all day? Spa day? Meeting friends for coffee? Working on projects I actually want to be working on? Not doing any kind of work whatsoever??

   For now, what day it’s on will have to be flexible. Trying to make it be the exact same weekday each month creates more stress for me. My plan for my next Sabbath day is to get a massage and binge watch my favorite show without guilt. Maybe work on a project or maybe not. Limit social media. Spending time thanking God for specific things. That’s as far as I’ve gotten for now. But in the future I may plan coffee with a friend, a pedicure, a house project I never get around to while listening to an audio book. A hike. A quiet drive to the beach. The sky is the limit! Whatever I do needs to be cup and soul filling and not draining in any way.

I am planning a part deux for this topic to share my progress and what I’ve learned in this area and to encourage you to plan regular time off for yourself as well. I’d love to hear your thoughts on Sabbath and if you take regular time off to rest and recharge. Please feel free to share in the comments how you do a Sabbath day and what you do to rest and recharge. I’d like to compile a list of ideas, experience and suggestions on taking Sabbath days for a future article. If you’d like your suggestions to be added to my list please email me at mmietzner@comcast.net.

Psalm 127:2

It is useless for you to work so hard
    from early morning until late at night,
anxiously working for food to eat;
    for God gives rest to his loved ones.