Real Rest, Planned Rest

Around here Sundays are for a lot of things—celebration of the Mass, household chores, meeting with friends at the park for a little soccer, or, in my case, frequently catching up on some writing and planning for the coming week.

It is rarely a day of rest.

On this Holy Saturday, we hear the creation story from Genesis 1:1-2:2. We hear how each day, God created and saw that it was good. On the last day, He created man and saw that it was very good. If we keep reading, we see that before He rested, God saw that His work was completed. His world was very good, and so only then was it that He rested.

It is very hard for us to truly rest if we are not completed in our job. We may regularly distract ourselves throughout the day, but we don’t fully rest when we have deadlines or tasks surrounding us. In my home, resting while the dishes stack up or the clothes lay crumpled on the floor is impossible. This is because the body feels increased stress and the mind has a hard time focusing if the environment is untidy.

How can we truly rest on the Sabbath when we have so much to do?

The answer is through intentionality prior to the Sabbath. If we can look at our weekend as a whole and try to spend our Friday or Saturday with greater focus on the work that will help us to leave Sunday, or even just part of Sunday, as intentional rest.

As we move through to the Easter Season this week, how can you change your schedule in order to give yourself the gift of rest on the Sabbath?

Can you can talk this through with a friend and try to hold one another accountable for treating yourself to a bit of rest on a weekly basis? Give yourself the time and ability to connect with the Lord on the Sabbath and accept His peace as you look forward to a new week.

* readings from Easter Vigil

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Accept His peace. // @maryruthhackettClick to tweet

Holy Spirit, move in me to help me order my weekend toward Sabbath rest.