RESTING UP

While preaching these last two Sundays in a row about Sabbath rest, I ended up exhausted.

It wasn't exhaustion coming from work - it was all family fun, in the shape of Samuel's and Hannah's graduations and all the travel and activity associated with both.

Picking Caleb up at the Chicago airport late Friday night, followed by an early morning graduation ceremony, really did a number on me this past weekend. After preaching on Sunday, I grilled steaks for Mother's Day lunch and then Melissa took Caleb to the Indianapolis airport while I took a nap.

It was a THREE HOUR nap.

This morning, after I helped Melissa and Sarah get out the door for school, I went back to bed and slept another two hours.

After getting out of bed at 10 am and then getting some exercise, my mood was noticeably improved over the past week or so and my thinking much clearer. 

As a result, I think I learned a couple of things that I would like to add as a P.S. to my sermons on the Sabbath.

1) I don't suppose play and recreation was an issue for the people of biblical times, but I think for us even the enjoyable stuff - sports, family activities, camping, and the like - can be as much a distraction from resting in God's presence as work can be. 

2) The elevated mood after catching up on my rest reminds me that keeping a Sabbath of rest may result in all sorts of unanticipated good side effects. Most of which would be hard to quantify.