As a culture we are so busy anymore, especially women. We wear many different hats on a daily bases, and even more so women who have jobs. I didn’t use the term, “work outside the home” because some of us do paid work inside our homes. But it still means that we have certain hours of the day that are designated to work for someone else. So working from home or outside the home it all boils down to work on top of all the other things that women do.
Single women who do not have children or their children are grown often don’t realize how good they have it. I say that because so many of us complain we are not married or don’t have children. But as Paul tells us….single women can concentrate on the things of God, where married women have to concentrate on their husbands and family. But even with more freedom I’m finding that single women are not resting as they should either.
It is a fact that married women or women with children seem to have fuller days and weekends. Those who go to church on Sunday often have ministry meetings after service or some churches try to have church all day long. So I ask, “When do we get to rest?”
Years ago, I ran my life as I had been taught. I worked all week and saved my cleaning and errands for the weekend. (I was not attending church services at that time) But when I think back my evenings were very laid back once my oldest daughter was old enough that I didn’t have to do the homework thing, pack lunch, give baths and entertain until bedtime. But once I started attending church and week day evening services, I found I was constantly on the go and missed some of that leisure time I had.
Problem solved! One day when talking to my spiritual mom about my dilemma, she asked me, “Why are you leaving so many things for the weekend?” Once I thought about it, my only answer was, “Because that’s the way I’ve always done it.” She laughed a bit, because we are of the same era and she too had been trained the same way. But one day she figured out that she didn’t have to continue to do things the same way. It was possible to change and make things more doable for a different lifestyle. That’s when I started doing my food shopping on Thursdays after work. I split up certain chores to be done during the evenings I was home instead of saving them for the weekend. But one of the biggest and most profound changes for me was to put a load of clothes in the washer in the morning before leaving for work, and my daughter dried them when she came home from school. No laundry on the weekends! I even gave her the choice of doing her chores between Thursday and Friday evening so that most of her Saturday mornings were hers.
Attending a Seventh Day Adventist boarding school for 3 years, did give me an understanding as to how to prepare for the Sabbath. It was something you worked toward during the week. They observe the “Shabbat” of Judaism—from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday. The family I babysat for in the afternoons had everything ready by Thursday evening. I did help out some on Friday with a few chores while they were at work. Once the sunset we went to Friday evening services, came back to the dorm to rest and meditate on the things of God. Now truthfully, as a teenager that was not what we were doing...LOL!! But there was no TV or music allowed—just quiet. When I spent the night with the family I babysat for, they sat around and talked as a family. I remember we laughed a lot.
Saturday breakfast consisted of cereal, donuts, fresh fruit, milk or juice. We had a morning service and lunch was warmed up food that had been prepared Friday afternoon. Oh, I forgot, Friday night supper was a brown bag we received after lunch. Yuck! After lunch on Saturday we sat around, napped, read and basically bored out of our minds until Saturday evening service and sunset! Then we ran to the TV room fighting for control of who watched what…ROF!! The dorm seemed to come back to life.
As a teen, Shabbat in the dorm was BORING, but as an Adult it is what we really need. It would mean sitting, being quiet and resting after service. Meals (prepared or bought in advance) would be eaten on disposable dishes, no internet, phone, TV and for me only music that inspired my heart in the things of God. No cleaning, washing clothes or running errands. Families would sit around and reconnect from their busy week and Mom along with dad would get to put her feet up for a few and even grab a nap. Or just sit and read for an hour or two.
How do we obtain this day of rest? Well, I guess we have to work it out for ourselves, because everyone’s lifestyle is so different. I’ve been working on it since the New Year, and I’m really enjoying my time of peace, quiet and rest. I’ve carved out a time of not watching TV, no internet, or phone. Even if I must go out, when I get back I do nothing of any consequence. I am not totally satisfied where I am, so I’m going to keep striving to do even better. My day of rest is mainly on Saturday because it works best for me after a long week. But, I wouldn’t have a problem if it were Monday or any other day of the week. I guess I’m trying to get you to think outside of what the norm is for you and if you are one who does not have a day of rest to look at your life and figure out—why not?
Love & Hugs
Ponnie
See you tomorrow!
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