My heart is so full and I feel to share a realization I had this weekend. Those of you who read for wit and entertainment, this might not be the post for you.
For the first time in my adult life I really looked forward to the adult session of stake conference (... okay, for the first time in my life I actually attended an adult session!), and made special effort to get to the Sunday session also (probably another first in awhile). What a powerful outpouring of the Spirit! I know it helps that I'm prepared.
There are a multitude of things I'd love to discuss, but the most powerful one is this:
The Sabbath Day was set aside, consecrated, even sanctified, by the Lord.
When you think about things that are consecrated and sanctified, or even things that are simply sacred to us (formal or not), they are not something we would toss about casually and set aside with ease when it suits our immediate purpose. The speaker told an engaging story about being hungry for spaghetti, only to find there was no oil in the house. His verbal imagery of grabbing the consecrated oil and firing up the skillet was a horror to all in the audience and really drove the point home - how often do we treat so casually our consecrated Sabbath Day?
To keep a Sabbath Day sanctified implies a lot more than a list of dos/don'ts. I get caught up in the don'ts - I try not to shop, listen to regular music, do intense recreation, etc. But my heart has not been in the place of understanding the meaning behind the fact that the Sabbath Day is a gift to our spirits. A Gift. A gift that we all too often see as an inconvenience, or maybe just a vacation.
So I'm going to try a lot harder to use my Sunday as a "Day of Rejuvenation" - not just a "Day of Rest." That last post I wrote about having the Spirit close when I am in the proper mindset goes hand-in-hand with this one. To think - 1/7th of a week focused on rejuvenating things spiritual and remembering my purpose could change my entire life.
I feel powerfully that we talk of these things far less than we should.
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5 comments:
Thanks Alaina, what a great post and I'm sorry now that I missed hte adult session.
Thanks for sharing your testimony about the Sabbath day with all of us! It helps strengthen us all!
In my family growing up the Sabbath was a day of "Growing closer to...". We'd play board games, watch movies, have family dinners/councils to "grow closer to" our family. We'd go hiking, biking, walking, picnicing, we'd throw the frisbee, do puzzles, go on drives all in the name of growing closer to our family, the spirit, nature, calmness, etc. It's a day to bring together the good however we so feel is most sanctified.
I love that you used the word REJUVENATION instead of rest. Thanks for these thoughts!
P.S. I LOVE that CD! You're the best!
Thanks for sharing. It sounds like it was a great session. I need to be better at attending adult sessions too.
I'm all about the adult sessions--glad you got on board!
And Sunday afternoons are definitely one of my favorite times of the week.
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