Sunday Dread

"Work hard, play hard." It’s a saying we’ve all heard. But what about “resting hard”?

I am not the first to admit that my mind, intent on productivity, is inclined to minimize the importance of rest; rest, after all, is often interrupted with thoughts of responsibilities, responsibilities that because I am resting I am clearly shirking—and by golly, there aren’t enough hours in the day as it is! However, Sabbath, like sleep at night, is a way of acknowledging what I believe to be our ingrained need for restoration.  Even God on the seventh day rested.


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My kitchen is very quiet and echoing in the morning as I wait for my ride to church as I sip a cup of lukewarm coffee. It seems that, especially in college, Sundays are composed of so much waiting—waiting for the ride to church, waiting to be greeted in the fellowship hour with a stomach grumbling for lunch, waiting for the quiet campus to be busy with the structure of classes once again, waiting for the library to open, signaling the beginning of panicked paper writing—waiting restlessly for Sabbath to be over so that the work can resume. How strange it is that we spend our resting hours consumed with thoughts of when they will be over. I will often plan my Sunday evening several times during the dwindling Sunday afternoon, as though repeated plannings will help me to be more efficient, more productive. But really, this planning is separating me from any restful mindset. Even my body is restless as I feel that somehow I must prove myself, to make up for those joyful, “wasted” hours of the weekend.

What can be done to lessen the Sunday dread, the queasy stomached feelings of guilt after a weekend winds down? 

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In reflection of what Alice Walker once said, “Anybody can observe the Sabbath, but making it holy surely takes the rest of the week,” we will define Sabbath as follows: a time set aside weekly to reflect on God’s nature, to worship Him, to affirm the goodness of His Creation and our creatureliness, and to reevaluate our understanding of what is important as His Spirit gives us life.

When we entrust our anxious and weary heart to God, we find that He becomes our place of rest, and in His presence we are given strength that doesn’t come from our striving. But it takes trust to stop and it takes practice to slow down. It is not natural. Rest is about so much more than hollowed laziness; rather, it’s an active dependence on God that may take a lifetime to master.

Sabbath may be an entire day, or for some it may be a few hours. Whatever it is, whatever it may be, pledge your time and rest hard!