A Day of Rest

Part of my inspiration for starting this project was that I wanted to build a church habit. I wanted it to feel weird if there was a Sunday and I was not at church. I know I "do better" and feel better when I attend church regularly, but without a church home it had been difficult to get into this habit.

One of the things I've learned about myself, especially over the last two months, is that I may be a 3-Sunday-a-month church attender, instead of an every-Sunday-always attender. This kind of surprised me, but I've noticed that on weekends when I am super-busy and have a really full Saturday, I don't seem to get as much from the Sunday service. I am, by degrees, tired/distracted/easily annoyed/prone to fits of staring into space...

But on the months when I have missed church one Sunday, but have read in my Bible or have watched a streaming service, or have done additional research into church homes and local programs-- I feel better, overall.

Genesis 2:2-3 tells of how even God took the seventh day and rested.
         ² By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

Sabbath is considered a day of rest, a time of worship, and an opportunity to regroup and only do the work that is required to keep the house running (i.e., cooking, bathing, caring for animals and children). Many of the churches I've attended have had what seemed like the entire morning dedicated to worship, and then further meeting times in the evening or large family dinners. The focus on family, or even church family, time is really important and I can feel the difference in myself when I attend church regularly.

However, I believe that there should be another type of rest, one where the focus is on a personal, not group, relationship with God. One where I can snuggle in bed with my husband, and simply commune with my family. One where I can reflect on the other weeks' lessons, and restore my soul and spirit for the month ahead.

I didn't set out to do the project this way. I set out to go every single Sunday, without fail. But sometimes I've been ill. Sometimes I've found myself physically exhausted. Sometimes I've been in such a soul-weary mood that a group setting is neither tolerable nor appropriate. And on those days, I reflect. I read devotions, I seek to learn, I seek God in all the small corners of the world.

And I rest.

Psalm 46:10 says: "...'Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.'" 

So today I am still. And I am at rest. I am home, enjoying my family and my couch and my Bible. 

And oh, I am blessed.