Mothers need Sabbath Rest

Tell me, sweet mothers, when do you rest? When do you really take the time to stop cleaning, carpooling, cooking and washing faces? I can tell you: if you’re not being intentional about finding the time to rest, you aren’t ever resting.

Because this life, this mama-ness, this in-the-thick-of-it huge chaos-filled merry-go-round doesn’t grind to a halt on its own. No, you have to push the big red button marked STOP.

Oh, but this seems like an impossible task. Children’ rear ends don’t cease to need wiping just because we decide to sit down for a spell. That’s true. But we need to find some time for quality rest, deep breaths and a little space; This is why God created the Sabbath. The Sabbath is for resting and for worshipping our Creator. But once we’ve acquired a few children, it starts to become almost unheard of to find that spot in our life where there’s room for proper rest.

As Christian women, we experience a whirlwind of flying hairbows and tantrums over tights every Sunday morning. So by the time we locate the Bibles and pens and offering and drag our moody bunch to church, we don’t exactly feel rested. In fact, I’d say that we feel pretty worn-out. And maybe angry. And most definitely annoyed. And certainly not in much of a state of mind to worship.

And then church is over, and we get the now starving children back into the car, and we bring them home, locate all of the necessary changes of clothes since they CAN’T STAND THE TIGHTS for one more minute. And then we remember that we now must feed this ravenous bunch. So, we make lunch (or, in my case, slap some sandwiches together). Then we clean up, start thinking about those piles of laundry or how very disorganized the closets are, or have a school project to “help” a child with. Sometimes we even have ball practices or playdates or go grocery shopping while daddy is home to stay with the children.

Before we know it, the afternoon is gone, and Monday looms once again, and all we have done the entire day is rush and work and try to mark things off a never-ending to-do list; This doesn’t seem to look much like the Sabbath that the Father had in mind when He told us to keep it holy.

So, here’s what I’m suggesting for all of us, moms. We need a Sabbath rest. As mothers, we will NEVER STOP if we don’t make up our minds to do it. If we don’t stick to our weary guns and schedule time for serious rest, we will go on and on, day and night, never resting, never giving ourselves the chance to breathe, reflect or even think. Our Sabbath rest doesn’t have to happen Sunday. But it needs to happen somewhere in our week.

When my children were small, I found myself being run ragged with the duties of child-rearing and housekeeping. I felt like my job (full-time mother) was just completely consuming every moment of my existence. I never punched out. I was always on call. I could never relax in my own home because there were always jobs to be done no matter which direction I looked. So, I decided I was going to start a new policy. I gave myself permission to sit on the couch Sunday afternoons. I started napping if I felt like it. I said no to the children and didn’t feel bad about it. I decided that I would no longer play, cook, clean, or do a single load of laundry Sunday afternoons. Pretty soon, my entire family understood that Sunday afternoon was a time of rest for me. And they let me rest.

It sounds too dramatic to say that adopting this policy changed my life, so I won’t say that. But it changed my attitude. It improved my morale. And it made me appreciate my job a lot more. So I think maybe these are the kinds of benefits God had in mind when He gave us the example of resting on the seventh day. Truly resting your mind, body, and spirit for a while each week just changes things.

But we mothers are a hard group to convince of this truth. So, you heard it right here, ladies. I am charging you with permitting yourself to take a Sabbath rest, whether it be Sunday afternoon or Thursday morning. Make time for it. If you aren’t carving out the time to rest, you probably don’t even realize how badly you need it. God doesn’t do anything for no reason. Sabbath rest is important. So, go for it, mamas! Love to you in this wild and tiresome and wonderful journey.