Friday & Saturday
Here’s Sunday-Tuesday. Wednesday-Thursday.
I could argue that Friday & Saturday are the most important part of my week. Does God work through a pastor in a hospital room, delivering a sermon, playing with kids on the church playground or serving communion? I hope so. But without Sabbath, it’s not the most high quality work.
If we are all vessels for God to work in and through us, then it matters how we care for ourselves. I can’t destroy my body with stress, overeating, too many work commitments, lack of exercise, saying yes to everything, ignoring my family and then expect God to send wonderful messages of grace through me. Will people still see Christ through my life? I hope so. But the message is mediocre at best.
So Fridays & Saturdays are my days to practice the spiritual rhythm of Sabbath. Each weekend looks different. But they have some things in common. I spend Fridays with my two kids so my husband can have some wonderful introverted time to himself. He’s building a camper and likes to golf and exercise. It’s sacred time for him and I’m usually happy as a peach to have a day with my two favorite little people.
I wish I could tell you I get to sleep in on Friday. But our 1 year old likes to wake up at 6:30 or 7, so we’re up early to play and usually make pancakes. We ride bikes, go on walks, visit the children’s museum, go shopping, explore a new park and go on adventures. I check email once or twice on Friday, mostly for emergency issues. I’m always trying to take a break from Facebook and Instagram, but I’m addicted. Which is another blog post for another day. Ugh.
Aaron and I schedule date nights about once a month on Friday night. Like most families with young kids, we have to work hard to put our marriage relationship before our kids. It’s hard. Those little people demand a lot from us. But every time we carve out time to be husband and wife, it’s a life giving energy that makes everything else more joyful.
Then Saturdays are usually a family day. We love exploring our new home state. The Pacific Northwest is gorgeous and getting out on the road, going to the water, seeing something new is a great way to spend Saturday. Are there church commitments on Saturdays? Sometimes. And we plan for those. But we plan for the family time as well.
The pace of Friday & Saturday slows down considerably after the busier pace of the week. And I love it. Sabbath is a rhythm that reminds me I can simply exist. I do not have to produce or create. God doesn’t love me more because I have a “win” at work or I get my child to behave or I figure out how to make healthy dinners my whole family enjoys.
God wants my full attention. I find it’s getting more natural to give God my attention on the busy days because my soul knows what it feels like to slow down on the other days. I heard Rob Bell say it this way, “Sabbath exposes the insanity of the other days.”
So there you go, my friends. If you’ve made it to the end of this little three part series, I’m impressed. Now you know a little bit what it’s like to be a pastor in today’s world. Or at least what it’s like to be a 33-year-old married pastor and a mother of two young kids. I love the church I get to serve in this season. It’s not easy to make it all work. But every time I remember I don’t have to make it all work – that God works in and through the whole thing, it gets so much better.
grace + peace,
Jenny
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