Preparing to Rest

Do you take a day (or two) off each week? Or do the demands of life spread themselves across all seven days? It's hard to get away from everything that needs to be done, isn't it. But here's the thing:

We need rest. We were made to rest. Our bodies have limits, beyond which they lose optimal function. And it's not just nighttime rest that we need. We also need regular intervals of longer cessation from work and striving. Vacation is one way we recharge for longer periods, but our bodies need a more regular break. To function best, we need a day of rest each week. We need a Sabbath.

Yet that day of rest doesn't just magically appear. It's no longer a part of our culture. What this means is that if we're to give ourselves a weekly break, we need to be intentional about it. The responsibility for making it happen rests (no pun intended) with us. And it requires, ironically, some work to carve out that time for a day off.

So I'd like to begin a weekly post here about some practices we can use to prepare the way for a day of rest. I'm calling them "Saturday Sabbath Starters". We'll look at some actions we can take the day prior to our Sabbath that will pave the way for a restful 24 hours. In my case, I have typically made Sunday my day of rest, hence my preparations occur on Saturday. If your situation requires you to work on Sunday, then you may need to implement your Sabbath preparation on a different day.

Here's my first suggestion for those of us desiring to capture a day of rest:
The evening before, select what clothes you'll wear that day. If you're like me, that means a set of church clothes and then relaxing clothes for the remainder of the day.
If you have young children, put out their clothes as well. And encourage older children pick what they'll wear.

Try it. Then let me know what impact this Sabbath Starter had on your day of rest. We'll add other practices in weeks to come.