I am participating in a Bible study using the above book, but this concept of Sabbath and required rest has been on my heart and in my mind since early December. After travel for Thanksgiving led us right into production week for drama which was right in the middle of basketball season and right in the middle of the busy Christmas season, I knew enough was enough. My kids were suffering, and I was suffering.
This is not how we are meant to live. I do not want to be consumed by this culture of insane business.
Unfortunately I have to remind myself of that again and again and again. There are so many "opportunities" out there for our kids. We are in the middle of a time and a place that tells us that our kids should have every opportunity to grow and develop in a myriad of ways, and they can only do that with outside help from schools and tutors and art teachers and soccer coaches and gymnastics classes and piano lessons and and and and and. It never ends. Never.
We homeschool which seems to imply the word home is in there somewhere, but there are PE classes offered 8 times a week in my part of town alone. There are 2 new people offering Spanish classes in the library near me. There are art classes and arts and crafts classes offered weekly. There are field trips to all sorts of wonderful places offered very regularly. There are chess clubs and drama seasons and cooperatives galore. This all happens during the day before other kids get out of school, so we can easily add on all the regular "after-school" activities that the non-homeschoolers enjoy, too. New opportunities for my kids flood my email and Facebook page almost daily.
As a first step toward stepping back away from the culture of WAY TOO MUCH, I'm trying to see every opportunity as an "opportunity" in quotes. Is it really an opportunity? What is the cost to my family? Even if it is free, there is a cost and often a big one. Will my kids miss their naps and silent reading time? Will we have to rush out the door in the morning? Will Basia get to do her math assignment for the day? Will Zade get stressed and angry because of the new location an unknown people? Will Cassia shut down from chaos around her? Will the change in schedule worry Soren and bring out the perpetual mad face? Will we have to pick up fast food for lunch or supper? Will Brishen be left behind again?
We are going to say no to almost everything this semester. I even backed out of a beloved morning Bible study because I knew the costs to my kids would be high, meaning the cost to me would also be high. I am working toward a life where the Sabbath (tranquility, serenity, peace, repose) God created for me to experience is part of our every day. Resting once a week while running ourselves ragged every other day is not the life God wants for me. I just feel that in my bones.
So, first of all, I am working toward a Sabbath sort of life. You may find me lazy, and that's OK. I won't fit into this go, go, go culture. My kids won't be in all the classes. This is what's right for us just as something very different may be what is right for you.
Yes, we'll head to the zoo sometimes. Yes, we will catch a story time at the library once in a while. Yes, we will go to a Chihuahua's game most years. Yes, we will be found at church most Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings. We will say yes to events and activities from time to time. I'm just going to shy away from too many ongoing commitments of our time and of our lives. Some weeks we will find extra activities a joy. Other weeks, we will need to lay low. I won't know which kind of week it will be until we are right in the middle of it, though.
Now for an actual day of Sabbath, that's going to take some study and work to create. I'm only in the first week of the Breathe study, but I'm already learning so much. God CREATED rest on the 7th day. He CREATED it! How can I deny that wonderful gift? There has to be a way for me to find more rest in a full 24-hour period even when there are meals to be cooked, bottoms to wipe, and kids to correct. My work cannot be put away for a day. I've already tried pleading with the kids to be good for just long enough for me to read my Bible, and it backfired, I am thankful for the Bible app on my phone since it makes it a lot easier to read while holding three kids, as I've learned from experience. I haven't found an app to deal with naughtiness for me.
I know I am going to have to CREATE new boundaries for our Sabbath, without being so rule-bound that we lose the purpose of the gift. Some of our Sabbath days will be on a Sunday, but Fridays, Saturdays, or Mondays will work just as fine on other weeks. Worship will be essential to our Sabbath some weeks, but other weeks Sabbath can only happen if I don't have to get all the kids dressed "just so" and behaving "just so" by a certain time on a Sunday morning. Sometimes we will watch too much TV. Other times we will steer away from anything electronic at all. In time my kids will become better about letting me have time to breathe because I am going to CREATE that Sabbath boundary a little at a time.
I have so much to learn, but I am ready and willing. Unfortunately I already know I will have to relearn most of it on a very regular basis. My prayer is that, one day, it will be a way of life for me and for my children.
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