A friend of mine let it all go once. For a whole day, she didn’t do all the things she always does around the house while her husband works. When he got home, his jaw dropped and he just stared.

Working part-time, full-time or stay-at-home, moms do a lot around the house.

I think about it sometimes. If I made an exit for a day or two, my husband doesn’t even know some of my daily tasks. 

Look at the lunch menu. Hot lunch or cold lunch.

Check the day of the week. If it’s a gym day, don’t let Allie wear a dress.

Put a daily snack in the backpack.

Is it Thursday? Trash Day.

Not to mention groceries, item returns, laundry, housecleaning.

Just a sampling, right friends?

Then we read these words...

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” (Exodus 20:8)

The only one of the ten commandments, among the many shall nots, when all God asks of us is to “remember.” Such a nice word.

The only commandment which God Himself honored as an example. 

“For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” (Exodus 20:11)

The Sabbath is blessed. By God.

The only day God made holy and He expects us to keep it that way.

Ain’t nobody got time for that.

I’ve written about this before and we frequent the topic in our Wednesday night Bible study.

A group of ladies working hard for their families. Their jobs. Their church. The Kingdom. Busy.

But I’m convinced when God told us to remember the Sabbath, He meant it. Rest.

Ezekiel was written at a time when God’s people had made Him tired. And angry. And sad. He explained why He allowed the Babylonians to sweep in and haul them off into exile. Here’s one reason:

“Also I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that the Lord made them holy. Yet the people of Israel rebelled against me in the desert. They did not follow my decrees... and they utterly desecrated my sabbath.” (Ezekiel 20:12-13)

In the many conversations I’ve had about the Sabbath, it always seems to come down to one important factor: 

Does your heart have a desire to seek a time with God in Sabbath rest? A heart issue.

Ask God what holy means. 

Here’s the dictionary definition:

"Dedicated or consecrated to God or a religious purpose; sacred."

Ask Him what a holy Sabbath means for your family. Your stage in life. 

Pray about ways you can better make time for it. Dinner in a crockpot or a big pot of soup on Saturday to serve as leftovers on Sunday. A day when you ask the environment for forgiveness and you use paper plates and plastic silverware. Maybe you eat out. Or maybe He asks you not to eat out.

How can your Sabbath look different from every other day? 

One friend of mine has three young children and she works full-time. They always attend church but it can be a little, ahem, hectic for them. These days a large part of her Sabbath is a 3-hour nap on Sunday afternoons. God bless her husband!

Another mom used to tag team with her husband as coach of their sons’ baseball team. When they would hit the road for games, it was a team rule that everyone had to attend church together when they were out of town on Sundays.

I saw yet another friend at Arby’s after church on a Sunday a few months back. They’d gone to one soccer game, attended church, and were grabbing a quick bite to eat before heading to the next soccer game. They made it a priority to attend the worship service. Sandwiched in between games. 

For me, Sunday morning worship time can often feel like work even though I volunteer. I usually have several items to drop off or exchange with other folks. I do the announcements at our church so I am mentally keeping all of that straight. Some Sundays I (wo)man a table to promote our women’s ministry events. So my Sabbath often doesn’t seem to start until I get home. Or another day of the week.

These examples may not appear too holy to you. All are doing different things to remember the Sabbath. The time frame is different. The days might vary.

But make no mistake. They are sacred moments. And our kids need to see us remembering.

In our hearts, we proclaim to God:

Today, this is what I have. I want it to be about you.

I know I need to right my focus. I know I need corporate worship. I know I need time in Your Word. I know, by Your example, there are times we need to stop and rest.

I leave moments of Sabbath rest feeling better because I had some down time with my Savior. If you take the time and do the same, I know He will be pleased.