When IS a mother's Sabbath day?

A good friend of mine asked me that question one Sunday morning. A great question, and as I pondered the answer, I could come up with nothing. Amidst the laundry and dishes, the sibling squabbles and baby crying, sleepless nights and tiring days...it's true, we mothers very rarely have a moment of rest. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I mean, we SHOULD have it, after all its so important the God of this earth needed it!!! And so, as is true of my personality type, I began looking for the reasons WHY we moms don't have a time of rest, and WHO was to blame.
 
Was it society's fault? Perhaps. After all, mothers just aren't valued the same as they once were. There should be some sort of free help program for us. You know, someone who will come clean your house (to your exact specifications) or who will cook meals (organic, whole foods only, something that tastes like it has a pound of butter but is in reality fat free, something the children will eat, oh and for free) or maybe a playmate for our children (who will love them as dearly as we do, but won't take our place. The kids still have to pick us over them of course). See, if we had all that, we'd be much better rested.

Was it my husbands fault? After all, he gets breaks at work, he sleeps all night long while I am up with the baby, he goes to the bathroom alone (gasp!), if he needs to run an errand, he just does, with no planning or thought about the kids. Why doesn't he see all I do everyday and give me more down time?! Why can't he read my mind about what needs to be done around here so he can be a more efficient help? And why can't he spend time with the kids in the way *I* want him to? (Quality games and activities only please, no screen time.) Oh, don't get me wrong, he is a great guy, truly. He is an amazingly sensitive husband and father, and works very hard for our family. But you know, those we love the dearest are often the easiest to get angry with...

Was it MY fault??? Certainly not! I mean, if *I* don't do everything around here, who will?! I'm indispensable, people need me. Couldn't be my fault. No way. :-)

And so, as I drove and thought, I got angrier and angrier. We *should* have a day of rest. And no one is making it happen!!! Hmmm. And then, God, in His divine way, spoke to me. No, not like He spoke to people in the Old Testament, but actually through a radio broadcast. It was about getting 'saved' and the preacher was going on and on calling all those who were weary to come and rest in Jesus. You know, you can almost hear his southern drawl, an old pastor, up at the front of a tiny country church, yelling at the congregation to trust Gee-sus. 

And a lightbulb went on. 'Rest' doesn't always mean physical rest, laying around all day. While it IS good and healthy to take days like that, that is not all. Our true rest comes in total surrender and trust in Jesus. Oh I don't want to sound cliche. I hate that. But truly, if we can get to a place where we bring all of our worries, doubts, struggles, insecurities, exhaustion, anger, sadness, and frustration to Jesus, we really truly can rest. Rest our soul, rest our spirit. 

I am so not there. Hence my almost constant restlessness. I'm trying, but it's hard. I am a self professed control freak. I know that about myself, but it is still hard to let go. I'm the one who has to come up with and follow through on the solutions. I'm the one people count on. I'm the only one around here who gets anything done! And yet, without me, the world would go on! Mopping the floors seems so insignificant when I look at it from that angle. (don't get me wrong, mopping is important, I'm not advocating giving that up or living in squalor lol) Yes, the floors need mopping, the furniture needs dusting, and the counters need wiping. And they will need it again tomorrow and the next day and the next. 

So why not take a few minutes to rest with Jesus? Why not go outside and marvel at the beauty that is a butterfly, the perfection of a flower, or the peace from a brilliant sunset? Why not loosen the reigns a little? You know when you've grasped a heavy bag or something in your hand for a while? When you first let the bag go, it almost hurts to open your hand. But the more you do, the more you realize it actually feels good, and before long you are opening and closing your fist to bring the blood circulation back to your fingers. That's how we hold on. We don't even realize it hurts. Or just how tightly we are grasping on. And yes, letting go is uncomfortable at first. It feels...off somehow. The longer we hold on, the more our hand cramps and tires. And while it's holding so tightly, it isn't good for anything else! When we can let go, let Jesus carry our burdens, we can find rest. True, tranquil, serene rest. And I believe *that is what a moms Sabbath will look like.