It's no secret that today's society demands perfection. If I had a penny for every time I heard a rich person on social media say, "Just work harder" (in their own words, of course), I'd be rich myself!zx With all the demands being made against you, especially as a father, it's easy to give in and get caught up in the everyday hustle and bustle of "life."
The problem is this isn't what life is supposed to be. Yes, life is supposed to be challenging (thanks Adam and Eve), but it's not supposed to drain you to the point of monotony.
Rest
You need rest. Real rest and relaxation. The hard truth is with today's society intentionally sucking the life out of you every chance it gets, added with the demands of fatherhood, to get rest you're going to have to fight for it (isn't that ironic).
If you want to feel prepared to hit Mondays head-on, you're going to need to be intentional yourself.
There are a ton of ways to get rest. You can force yourself to get more sleep, but that also is dependent on if your kids allow that. Personally, anytime I announce to my family, "I'm taking a nap," my daughter immediately wants to have a tea party even though the previous 10 times I asked her, she said no.
You can lay on the couch with your family and watch TV, scroll through your social media on your phone, play video games, talk to friends, etc. The list can go on and on.
Keeping Sunday Holy
However, if you want to feel truly rested and ready for the week ahead, you need to keep the Sabbath day, Sundays holy.
When God created the world, he rested on the seventh day. The Sabbath day. He didn't create more birds, he didn't rearrange mountain tops, or make the sun brighter. He didn't even put clothes on Adam. He rested. If he rested, shouldn't you?
Keeping this in mind, watching TV or endlessly scrolling through your social media aren't forms of resting. True, they are good ways of turning your brain off for a while, but that isn't true rest. You're better off just spending that moment in silence (and yes, that in itself does take practice to be able to do).
Sundays are meant to be spent doing recreational activities with your family. Go for a long walk at the park, play with your kids at a playground, build something with your kids, or even play in the dirt and use your imagination. There are so many things to do; you just have to get creative.
Does this mean you have to be doing something all day? No. Not at all. Here is how my Sundays generally look with my family:
Morning (7am): wake up, church, park, home for lunch.
Afternoon (12pm): Lunch, nap, activity time (or go back outside somewhere).
Evening (5pm): kids help make dinner, eat, play some games, bedtime routine.
Benefits of the Sabbath
Start using Sundays for what they are intended for, and that weight on your shoulders (stress) will decrease from a boulder to a pebble. A pebble you'll be able to skip across a glorious pond when you're using that Sunday to hike through the woods.
Along with shredding the stress, you'll start to have a spiritual renewal. It's amazing to come to that realization of "Oh, this is what God meant when he said keep the Sabbath holy." Once this happens, you might prioritize most other things around your Sundays.
You'll find yourself with more opportunities for quality time with your family. Then, by no magic from Dumbledore's wand but by your own intentionality, you'll start having more meaningful relationships with your kids. They will also grow to love Sundays because of the quality time they get with you, their father. This in itself can get any father through the week ahead and looking forward to the next Sunday.
It'll help you put things in perspective by starting to have more of a home/work balance. This impacted me by starting to see that, as an employee, I'm replaceable. However, as a father, I'm irreplaceable. No other man will love my kids more than me. Therefore, no other man will be a better father to my kids than me.
You'll start to have more energy throughout the week. Utilizing Sundays for what they are intended for not only relaxes you but it energizes you. It gives you something to look forward to as well as provides a great distraction from society so you'll be able to come back on Monday feeling fresh and looking chipper.
Be Intentional
When you start taking advantage of the Sabbath day, you'll also start getting attention from Satan himself. He'll start focusing on you and placing distractions in front of you so you won't stick to this new routine. He'll see that you're trying to be more holy and try to sweep you off your feet with nothing other than a slide tackle from Hell.
This is where you're going to have to fight to get your rest, meaning that you'll have to be intentional. Chores will have to be done on another day, phones might need to be placed in a Tupperware container and placed in the living room, and a blanket might just need to find its way on top of the TV so temptation won't creep up (or just hide the remote somewhere).
Whatever you normally do, work-wise, on Sundays will need to be moved to other days. Yes, this means there's more work during the week or on Saturday, but it also means you'll get Sunday to rest and not need to worry about anything else.
My wife and I do our best to get all chores done on Saturday and all of our errands done during the week so we won't feel the dreaded weight of having to prepare for Monday on Sunday evenings and can be fully present with each other, and our kids, all day.
Start now
Whether you're tired of feeling the monotony of life or you're looking for a way to be more present to your kids, Keeping the Sabbath day holy will work miracles in your life.
Before you start, reflect on why you're starting. Is it for your kids, yourself, your wife, or another intention? Keep this reason in mind when things get difficult, and chores start creeping back to Sundays.
Society will constantly be breaking your boundaries on it so you will stay focused on the monotony of life. Don't let society do this. Keep your boundaries, be intentional, and reap the rewards.
Applaud yourself for taking a step toward intentionality. Pat yourself on the back for stepping up and trying something new. You kids won't know the difference now, but later in life, it will mean the world to them when you pass your legacy on to them. So why wait? Start preparing for Sunday today!
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