Rest

Today's sermon hit me (and a lot of friends) pretty hard.

Rest. The invitation to reflect and delight in the Lord. Wait... I'm allowed to do that as a college student. Stop, play, worship.

I was reminded today that God made the Sabbath differently. He said it was "very good" and on every other account of creation Moses writes "there was evening and there was morning" but did not write it on the account of the seventh day. So: what does that mean for me?

The Sabbath is different than all the other days of the week. It starts with worship, fellowship with my sister and brother-in-law, then a dreadful drive back to Trinity because homework always awaits me. I often feel bad for not doing homework when I am away from it. Such a completely different feeling compared to when I was growing up. When I was little homework was not allowed to be done on a Sunday. If I wanted to go out on Saturday I had to have all my homework done. How badly I wish for that rule right now.

I left church with the challenge to treat the Sabbath like the Lord treated it. He rested from his normal activities  He allowed himself to reflect on his creation. Therefore, I should reflect that example. I need to do a better job of resting and delighting in the Lord. I need to do a better job of doing something different on Sabbath than my normal activities.Yes, I often take Pinterest breaks during studying, but how often do I take an afternoon to reflect on the Lord's presence, or 'play' with my friends (let me answer that for you- rarely).

So: here I sit, 10:44pm on a Sunday night. I fellow-shipped all afternoon with Daloris (elderly women I have gotten to know over the years at Trinity and her friends) ate a wonderful lunch, and played dominoes for two hours. I'd say that is completely different than my normal activities. Confession: I did do homework. My childhood rule probably will never be in effect for the next year, but I hope I can challenge myself to limit the amount I do on a Sunday afternoon. I hope I can challenge myself to laugh, play, and reflect.