I’m prepping for school this fall. Never mind that Emma starts back to her co-op on Tuesday. Never mind that I started doing school anyway just because we needed to get some things done. This fall will be prepped for, it may just take until spring. I’m still working on redecorating the school room. It’s time to purge the household goods again to make them more manageable. I’ve been switching the kids’ clothes for fall weather. I guess what I’m trying to say is: I have a lot of things to do and I have negative time to get them done in. All these projects are due or past due.
Yet, I keep encountering stuff on Sabbath rest. It’s everywhere. So, I’m being told I need to rest. And, unfortunately, I deal with being told to do things about as well as my three-year-old.
Unrelated, his favorite thing right now is to tell me how much he loves me when I tell him to go to bed. “It’s time for nap.” “But I LOOOOOVE you.” He’s tricky, that one.
So, resting. I did it today. We went to church. We ate out. I took a nap. I took a walk. I watched a movie with the kids. I did load and start the dishwasher, but that’s it.
And I feel a little like Toad (From Tomorrow in Days with Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel)
“Blah,” said Toad.
“I feel down in the dumps.”
“Why?” asked Frog.
“I am thinking about tomorrow.” said Toad.
“I am thinking about all of the many things that I will have to do.”
“Yes,” said Frog. “tomorrow will be a very hard day for you.”
Now, in the book, he decides that he will start on his to do list today so that tomorrow he can take life easy. But, I’m being asked to rest. And it’s sometimes hard to listen to that. But, unlike Toad, if I choose to work today, I will still work tomorrow. I have children. There are always things to do. It will never be done. So instead of following the call to try to get ahead, today, I rest in obedience. And obedience, in the end, will trump productivity and getting ahead because it’s reward is better than an organized home, it is peace and renewal.
What’s on your to do list for today? Do you take a Sabbath? What does it look like for you and your family?
