Our Life Together

Sabbath Rest.

A few weekends ago we drove out to Frankfort for a Sabbath of hiking and reading. Our hiking destination was Cove Spring, and then we went into downtown Frankfort to enjoy reading on the lawn of the courthouse and inside Poor Richard’s Bookstore, a gem of a place!

This was the first weekend that we were intentional about getting out of our house, and out of the city (if possible) to spend some intentional time together, while also marking the whole day as one of rest (meaning we spent our Saturday doing all the chores around the house and errands for the week). We’re not especially busy people, but we decided to start experimenting with setting apart a day to rest and relax and be refreshed to see what effect it had on our week.

Our conclusion is that it was a huge success. We felt more rested and ready when Monday rolled around — probably because we were able to talk, enjoy nature, and not have to worry about a pile of dishes or clothes waiting for us at home. Which meant we didn’t have to rush through our day in order to finish something at home.

For us, a Sabbath rest is not really about ceasing all activities — but more about not having an agenda, no obligations — free and open time. We’re planners, so we were intentional about how we spent our day, but it was certainly worth it to be able to spend it on ourselves, rather than just busyness.

Do you take time for Sabbath rest? What type of activity relaxes and refreshes you best?