LISA UPDIKE | GUEST

I love spring! The blooming flowers, nesting birds, the promise of longer days and looking forward to the lazy days of summer….ahhhh. But wait, don’t sit back and relax quite yet! Just take one look at the calendar. First, we’ve got the end-of-year school concert series: elementary music programs with tone bells, squeaky recorders, and hand drums; middle school orchestra; high school chorus. Now onto the sports. Why do they need so many games for T-ball? They’re five! Meanwhile, two fields over, you’ve got another child playing softball and she just got the third out, losing the game for her team. That’s going to take a little energy tonight. You can’t forget the spring sports award banquet. What are you going to bring anyway? You don’t have the energy to bake that casserole. Do you think a veggie tray is sufficient? The high-schooler is having a melt down over which classes to pick for fall semester. You don’t understand. It has to be perfect! His whole future depends on having the right classes. But you don’t have time to help because you are putting make-up on his little sister for the spring ballet. Then there’s prom. End of year testing. Spring field trips. Graduation parties. Don’t think of the yard work waiting to be done, just don’t.

We often wish for more hours in the day. Or to clone ourselves. Yes, that would be nice. Another me! But, friend, we are finite. And that is actually good. God created Adam and Eve with a finite nature. And what did He say after creating them? It was very good. Yep, they needed rest. They slept every day. They went on peaceful strolls in the garden with God. There was work and there was rest. Real rest.

I can hear you now, “But we don’t live in Eden. We are BUSY! How can I get it all done?” Honestly, I don’t know how to answer you except to say, “Do we need to get it all done?” I know, we want to be there for all of our kids’ events, and that is good. I’d even go so far as to say that is very good. But I also want to encourage you to double check that you are making first things first. And what are those first things to make first? Read this:

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, …¹¹ For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus 20:8-11)

Dear one, let me just challenge you with this. You must take your Sabbath rest. I mean it! Go to worship service, come home, and rest. No doing the laundry. No creating fancy meals. I give you permission to serve simple leftovers for dinner, or open a can of soup. Make sure your kids do homework on Friday night and Saturday so there are no last-minute crazy runs to Walmart for poster board. God gave you six days for work. So, work hard on those days! But, on Sunday, play board games with the kids. Color with crayons. Do a puzzle. Maybe, oh wonders of wonders, take a nap. For just one day, STOP! You are finite, and today that is still very good. God calls you to rest. To fellowship with Him. Carving out that one crucial day makes all the difference. We were designed for Sabbath rest.

Give the Sabbath rest a try, and as the sun sets, gather your family, look over your too full calendar, communicate about the week, and make a plan. Then pray. Pray that you will keep first things first. Pray that in all your activities you are not seeking to impress, but to serve others, and to glorify God. Can you let something go? Then do. Tickle the tummy of your t-ball player and tell them it’s fine to miss a game if he needs to slow down. Hug your ballerina and remind her that her dancing is most delightful when she offers it as a gift to her Maker. Look full in the face of that panicked high-schooler and remind him that all his days have been ordained by the One Who holds him fast. And Mom, yes, the veggie plate will be sufficient for the sports banquet. After all, if your family doesn’t get quite enough to eat, you can swing by the Chick-fil-a on the way to Young Life without being too late! Yes, I love spring!

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash