Day of Rest

In our home, Sundays are considered a day of rest. I don’t mean that we sleep late and linger over brunch. On the contrary, we rise early enough to get a bit spiffy and have a little breakfast and coffee before heading to church for a morning of Bible study and worship.

How is that restful? Getting up and out of the house so early?

Well, it’s more of a resting in the Lord. And it’s pretty wonderful.

Worship brings rest. The refreshment we receive while gathering with brothers and sisters to worship God and learn from His Word sets our hearts and minds in restful peace for the week ahead. Through the teachings from Bible class and sermon, we are assured of God’s providence in our lives. With singing we joyfully proclaim our praise and thanksgiving, reminding ourselves of His faithfulness. And in prayer, our hearts are relieved of our many burdens.

Our day of rest continues when we return home from church to savor a warm lunch with conversation, often including discussion about the sermon and friends we saw. After lunch, physical rest comes in the form of naps. Ahh, glorious naps! Or at least quiet time in bedrooms for those who wish to read instead of sleep.

So, our Sunday rest comes first from our time in worship, next with a good meal, and then with sleep or a relaxing activity.

Two Sundays ago, we were finishing up a household quarantine because my husband and daughters had been sick and therefore we were not able to attend worship service. Knowing we would be home that morning, we all planned to sleep a little later before tuning in to our online service. Despite the extra sleep, I woke to an aching back and a stinging neck from the extra work and busyness that comes with taking care of a sick household. I won’t lie–I. was. tired. And probably a tad cranky.

BUT, God had a day of rest in store.

I got out of bed and started making my way to the kitchen to begin the morning deliveries of juices, meds, and vitamins. As I passed through the den, I noticed a fluttering movement of white flakes swirling outside the den window. There had been NO snow in the forecast, and I did not have my glasses on yet, so I assumed it was crepe myrtle blossoms blowing across the yard. Ha! And then I remembered, ‘It’s winter! There are no crepe myrtle blossoms right now.’ I walked closer to the window and, ‘SNOW!’

Oh, what a lovely sight!

Although it didn’t stick, we rested in the tranquility of the snowfall outside our windows for several hours that morning.

We gathered in the den for our online worship, followed by a hot meal of eggs, sausage, grits, and toast.

After meal cleanup, we took a little walk down to the woods.

We’d had a lot of rain that weekend and it’s always fun to see the creek gushing after a rain.

I love twisting, mossy trees!

See the tree in the pic below? My girls have always called it the “Thinking Tree” because they like to sit in its curve and, well….think!

Here’s a little waterfall.

It’s funny how fungus is only beautiful in nature. Look at the patterns below. Amazing!

We went back inside for our quiet hours of napping and reading. I almost always nap on Sundays, but since everyone else was in their own bedrooms and the den was not only quiet but the cleanest room in my house (I love to sit in a clean room, don’t you!), I decided a whole afternoon of reading by the fire was the rest I desired.

I read for several hours without interruption! That in itself was a blessing, but the book I was reading was the real treasure. Safely Home by Randy Alcorn is one my daughter and I are reading for her composition course. I have been so moved and convicted by this book.

I don’t even want to try and describe this beautifully written book because my words would not begin to do it justice. I’ll just say that this heartbreaking story of the persecution of Chinese Christians who continued to joyfully serve Jesus and spread the gospel made me really consider how the conveniences in our country have watered down our faith. It’s also made me more thankful for the freedom to worship publicly. At the risk of sounding cliche, this book is a MUST READ.

While I thoroughly enjoyed and benefitted from this day of rest and worship at home, I couldn’t wait to get back to church the following Sunday to exercise my religious freedom while praying heartily for those who suffer persecution around the world.