"For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."
Lately, I have been reflecting on how I have confused Saturday for Sunday. I want to sleep in on Saturdays. I want to do fun things and push off my chores for later. What happens is that on Sunday afternoons and evenings, I am faced with all the stuff I avoided doing on Saturday. Why is that?
I am not sure whether God created the earth in 6 literal days or not. I am not trying to open that can of worms here. I do want to look at scripture and see what it says about rest and then try to follow it. If God rested on the 7th day, which is a Saturday, then why don't we rest then? Well, the Jews did as they were commanded to do. But since Christ died and rose again on a Sunday, I believe it is then that we should now stop and rest in Him.*
We do not earn our rest after a hard weeks work. We start the week acknowledging that we cannot do anything without the grace of God. We lay it all before His feet. The Sabbath is a day set apart for rest. God made it holy for that purpose.
Sunday is the first day of the week. That is why it is so hard to rest. There is an entire week of responsibilities and activities ahead of us. Why not get a head start on things? Well, after experiencing a true day of rest today, I don't think I ever want to go back. Back to the days of last minute laundry and late night grocery shopping on Sundays. I want to be prepared and so I will try my darnedest to get everything done on Saturday.
So why was today so restful? I SLEPT! Dan and I went back to bed during Eli's first nap before church. It was awesome! Then, we spent almost three hours at church in worship and fellowship. We had lunch and all went back to bed. After our second nap, we walked to the park and enjoyed ourselves until dinner.
Eli and I checked out the wading pool/fountain park for the first time. I didn't think he would like it at first because he didn't love the one we went to in Seattle. These fountains were a lot lower and softer water pressure than those in Seattle. Plus, Eli walks better now so he can control where he wants to go.
Eli had to wear papa's shirt on the way home. We didn't come prepared.
It was a simple day. All responsibilities (well, most) were pushed to the side. We enjoyed each other and most importantly, we enjoyed our God and His creation. I can only pray that I will continue to be this intentional about resting in Him on the Sabbath.
*This is what I believe to be true.
