My first Sabbath of a new year. Let me tell you … it was restful! There is no other word for it. My husband and I decided to honor the Sabbath on New Year’s Day, leaving Sunday open for church, lunch with the kids/grandkids and a bit of work once we got home.
Actually, Sunday ended up being pretty restful as well. Work was minimal … responding to a couple of business emails and blogging, mostly done while sitting in the Lazy Boy in front of the fire. No stress. Peace and quiet. Wow. While I do not expect this to be a common occurrence, my Sabbath Experiment in 2011 involved an entire weekend!
Saturday was a lazy day. We decided to sleep on the sofa bed in the family room by the lit Christmas tree on Friday night. I woke up around nine and, upon seeing the foggy, rainy weather outside, crawled back into bed and slept until eleven. How delicious is that? And, no, it wasn’t because we had been drinking the night before. At one point, I thanked God that we didn’t get another dog after Jake died in 2008. After all, dogs do not tolerate this kind of morning laziness.
After breakfast, I did what seemed completely appropriate for a day of rest … I took a nap! Bill and I have these wonderful fleece sheets that are unbelievably comfortable. In the warmer weather, we use the more environmentally friendly and healthier bamboo sheets, but once the temps drop, we love climbing into a bed of amazing softness. The temptation was too great. The sheets were calling me. I succumbed and slept some more.
Dinner, movies and games rounded out the day/night. It was a lovely way to spend not only a Sabbath, but a holiday as well. I told Bill on several occasions during the day that I was so glad we weren’t having company for dinner. After a hectic holiday season, a restful weekend was most definitely in order!
So now, I can face the beginning of the workweek (month, year!) feeling recharged and stress-free. Thank you, Lord, for giving us the model of the Sabbath to follow. Forcing myself to step back and not work one day a week is sure to lead to more productivity on the other six.
It is a new year. Why not join in the Experiment and take a day off each week as well. Maybe we can start a movement!
Keeping it restful on the Sabbath,
Hana
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