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Grateful Days 2012, Day 11: The Sabbath

Yesterday at stake conference, one of the speakers talked about The Sabbath.  She mentioned how relaxed we've become as a people when it comes to the Sabbath Day.  She quoted someone saying how to our great grandparents it was called The Holy Sabbath Day, to our grandparents it was The Sabbath, to our parents it was Sunday, and to us it is "The Weekend."

It really made me sit back and think about my Sabbath Day activities.  Most often, I take a nap, make dinner, and put the children in bed.  We rarely do anything special just on the Sabbath.  But, I realize that the Sabbath Day is a significant part of my worship of Heavenly Father and Jesus.  As I attend my church meetings, read my scriptures, write in my journal, and generally think about things that I don't think about during the week (because of distractions due to work), I realize that I am really rejuvenating my spirit for the week ahead.

I read a book almost two years ago about an orthodox Jewish community.  In it, the characters stress the importance of preparing for the Sabbath Day.  In their community/religion, they spend the rest of the week preparing for the Sabbath Day.  They clean their homes, cook extra food, wash and iron their Sabbath Day clothing ... and they do all of this throughout the week, not just the day before.  As I read about their Sabbath Day preparations, I realized that everything I do on the Sabbath Day helps to prepare me for what may come during the following week ... and if I use the "weekdays" to prepare for the Sabbath, I am taking a little bit of the Sabbath Day spirit with me into my week.

So, everyday I am preparing for something.

This week, I am trying to prepare for the Sabbath Day before it comes.  I want to have the spirit of the Sabbath with me everyday, and this small change just may do the trick.

Today, I am grateful for the Sabbath Day, that I can rejuvenate my spirit and prepare myself for the following week.

Comments

Aubrey A said…
Beautiful! Since moving up here to WA I have found my outlook on the Sabbath changing. I spend a lot of time reading scriptures on the Sabbath and it truly does help me get through the week. It's amazing what a little preparation can do for the soul. Such a great thought!

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