My Journey in Keeping the Sabbath by Guest Writer, Rebekah Coons
In our book study, we are reading about God’s good design - creating the world in six days and resting on the seventh, providing the Sabbath for our benefit. This is a friend’s journey in learning to keep the Sabbath. Perhaps it’ll inspire you toward keeping the Sabbath in a way that fits your family.
Rebekah’s account: In many way, I’m a newbie in the journey of motherhood and with twelve years under my belt, I still wake up each morning and question my ability to “get it right.” However, the lesson I continue to learn in small and big ways is that, in Christ, are ALL the answers. More times than not, he uses a motherhood moment to draw me closer to Himself. So, settle in as I share one of these moments from years ago that forever changed my walk with the Lord and showed my family a new way to live. I found myself laid out in bed with a scary cough and no energy. We had three little boys, ages 5, 3, and 18 months, and my husband traveled frequently. This forced rest came in the form of pneumonia. I was knocked off my feet for six weeks with the doctor’s strict orders to take my antibiotic and rest. Little did I know that the Lord was going to use this recovery time to not only heal my body, but also my soul.
As I progressed through my slow recovery, the Lord held up a mirror to my life. I began to realize that my exhaustion turned illness didn’t come from my three little boys, though they were work. It didn’t come from lack of resources or perceived lack of help; it came from my view of my need for God. Specifically, I was running against the rhythm He had created for mankind - the Sabbath. Knowing that I would need this day of rest, God modeled this when He created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. He did not need to rest, but He showed me that I did.
As I took stock, I realized that the Sabbath had become sloppy in our family. Though our family didn’t miss church, we found that we squeezed in grocery runs, loads of laundry, work emails, and other stuff to fill in our Sunday afternoons. In our attempt to get ahead of the week, we missed the opportunity to put the week in the hands of God. Things had to change! And so, our journey began as a family. I say journey because as simple as it sounds, it took practice and intentionality.
How does this work? As a family, we began preparing for the Sabbath the six days leading up to it. My Sunday grocery run was moved to Mondays; house cleaning and laundry was moved to Friday afternoon and became a family task. Computers, email/social media, calendars that were tended to throughout the week, got shelved at sundown on Saturday night. While so many loose ends and to-dos enter the Sabbath with us, the simple act of transferring those into God’s hands, trusting that He is in control of time and outcomes, set the tone for not only Sunday, but for our entire week.
With all the clutter and chores to the side, we got to enjoy and take delight in God’s day. For us, “delight” takes the form of family worship, a simple lunch and rest time after church, a leisurely family football game at the park, puzzles by the fireplace, or a lazy afternoon at home. It ends with the infamous “daddy dinner” which translates to lots of laughs and grilling, or leftovers served up in the kitchen while Mom takes a night off from kitchen duty. There are many ways to delight in the Sabbath. Isaiah 58:13-14 says, “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth.”
