Sunday afternoons are one of my favorite times during the week. Do I go somewhere exciting? Do I enjoy my favorite hobbies or sports? Not really. Sunday afternoons are for rigorously structured laziness. Our family doesn’t make plans, we don’t take trips, we use them instead, for rest and relaxation.
In a society that sees church attendance as less and less of a priority, Sundays have become simply another Saturday. People go to the malls, meet with friends, work on their houses, go to parties and stay out late.
In our family, Sundays are a day in which we avoid going to the store unless it is absolutely necessary. We don’t do jobs around the house (including laundry) and we don’t mow the lawn. We don’t have large Sunday dinners that require much preparation and clean up. We keep things simple so that we can spend time enjoying each other, rather than working. If my husband and I get the kids down for a nap at the same time, we enjoy time playing games and talking. We might take a nap, read or poke around on the computer. When the weather is nice we take afternoon walks with the kids. Occasionally we watch a football game and, often, we take time to call and talk to family members who live out of state.
We tend to rush all week long with appointments, obligations and day-to-day life. The pace of life is hectic and sporadic. Sundays are a day for us to not only be in God’s house for Sunday school, morning church, and the evening service, but also to take the bulk of the day to enjoy each other and being a family.
Sometimes I am tempted to feel guilty about the hiatus I take on Sundays. Afterall, shouldn’t I use the time to get ahead for the week to come? I have to consciously push these thoughts aside and remember that it was God’s plan for us to use a day out of the week for physical, as well as spiritual rest. So, even if I do nothing in particular on Sunday, I am still doing something very important: I am preparing myself spiritually and physically for the week to come.
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