Remembering what I have forgotten

"Remember the Sabbath day"

Exodus 20:8

I didn't vacuum last Sunday. 

Nor did I do any dishes. 

I didn't wash my car or clean out the garage or sweep the backyard.

Or hitch up the horses to the carriage.

And I'll tell ya why.



Because we don't own any horses.  Or a carriage.  



But the reason I didn't do any of those other things is because of an offhand comment my sister made a few weeks ago. 

It was a Sunday afternoon, and my Awesome Girl was going to vacuum my car for me, when in the middle of the task, the vacuum cleaner quit working.   It's the only one we have, and I was not excited about the prospect of paying to have it repaired, so I sent an email to a few friends jokingly {but not really} asking them to pray that my vacuum cleaner would miraculously start working again.  My sister gave me some advice on how she'd fixed her own vacuum, and then jokingly {but not really} said, "Why are you vacuuming on a Sunday??"

The next day I went online to the manufacturer's website and found some troubleshooting advice that enabled me to miraculously get my vacuum working again, and the problem was solved.  But my sister's comment had gotten me thinking. 

What effort do I make for Sunday to look different than the other days?  In what way is Sunday the Sabbath for me?  Scripture says we are not to do any work, but what does that mean?  Not going in to the office?  Not vacuuming?  Not cooking dinner? 

I know a lot of people disagree with the "right" way to recognize the Sabbath; the right way to act, or the things to avoid.  When my kids were younger, I read the Laura Ingalls Wilder series of books to them, and we all marveled that there were families who would walk to church on Sunday, rather than hitch up the horses to the carriage.  Frankly, walking seems like more work than hitching up horses...

The point, though, isn't what you feel is okay or not okay to on the Sabbath.  It's just not clearly spelled out in Scripture.  Each of us might have a different understanding of how to honor it, and we will have to answer to God for how we obey Him on that issue.

I think what's important is the wording of Exodus 20:8 ~ "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy."  I have not been giving any thought to making Sunday different from the other six days.   The Sabbath is supposed to be a day of rest for me and my family; and more than that, it's supposed to be a holy day.

And I'd forgotten to remember that.

~ "For in six days the Lord made 

the heavens and the earth, 

the sea and all that is in them, 

and rested the seventh day.  

Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day 

and hallowed it." ~

Exodus 20:11