I wanted to put some thoughts down as I finish my reflection on Matt's and my time away. First, it took me a while to get out of "mom mode" and realize that I could relax! My parents had everything under control with the kids and my job was to enjoy alone time with my husband.
One of the best parts about going away was that we were able to hear such great speaking. I was especially challenge by one message given by George Murray. The title was "Reasoning From the Greater to the Lesser". It's hard to summarize, but I am going to try. He used two passages as his key points and they were:
Psalm 121:1-2
I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
Romans 8:32
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all,
how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?
He pointed out that there are two aspects of God that if we remember them, we have no reason to worry. First, He is Creator, second, He is our Redeemer.
So, if we remember that God created the entire universe, surely the difficulties I am facing are not too hard for Him to handle! Then, if I remember that God was able to take my life and redeem me making me a child of His, He can do anything!
He took it a step further. He began by telling us that the university that He is chancellor of, has a rule for the students. No studying on Sundays. He said that when the new students find out about that rule they are usually upset by it. However, a few weeks into the school year, they have come to appreciate it. They can take a walk, take a nap, or visit with a friend without feeling guilty. He showed us two verses in the Old Testament that I had never seen in this light before.
Exodus 20:8-11
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
Deuteronomy 5:12-15
Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you, so that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.
At first, I was thinking "That is the Old Testament! I am not under the law!" But that wasn't his point. He showed us in those verses how in Exodus, God is telling them that while they were resting, they were to remember that He was Creator. In Deuteronomy, He was telling them that while they were resting, they were to remember Him as Redeemer. Mr. Murray showed some other references that made the same point. As we remember Him as both of those things, we can find peace in our circumstances- whatever they are.
I decided personally, that I am going to do that. No cooking, cleaning, or school stuff on Sundays. Well- I will cook what I need to and as a family we will clean up after our meals, but no laundry, vacuuming, cleaning projects.... I began last week and it took some planning. We used paper plates for our meals, breakfast was prepared the night before, lunch and supper were simple. It was strange. I sat on the couch and read for a little bit. I played board games with the kids. Did I say I sat? That was the strange part. The best feeling was no guilt. No guilt because cleaning ,cooking, and school stuff were not even "'allowed". And because it was such a foreign thing to me, I was focused on remembering God as Creator and Redeemer. I hope to improve on this in the coming weeks. When the older kids were little, I used THIS resource and loved it. It was full of ideas to "make Sunday the best day of the week". I'm not sure what happened, but we lost that tradition. Way lost it. I plan to keep at this idea until the kids, Matt and I look forward to Sunday in a way that we never have before and find that on Monday- we are refreshed. I am so thankful for that reminder and for the challenge.
On the last day (Memorial Day) we went to a concert and patriotic rally. The speaker was Jeff Struecker- he was an army ranger who was involved in the Battle of Mogadishu, better known as Black Hawk Down in 1993. He is now a pastor in Georgia. We let the kids hear what he had to say HERE. You have to click on "Memorial Day 2013" and it is an audio file. The kids listened to the whole thing without saying a word! You may enjoy it too. After the rally there was a cookout and then it was time to head home. (Yes, that is white bread!)
I am so thankful that my parents were willing to watch 7 kids for 4 days so we could get away. I am thankful that Matt made the arrangements and prioritized time with me. I am thankful that God spoke to me in such real and refreshing ways. I really do have so much to be thankful for!
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