Day 34 - On Doing Nothing

I remember back in 1970 when a store in our community decided to open on Sundays. In the world in which I grew up, nothing was opened on Sunday except Church. The grocery stores were closed. The banks were closed. The retail stores were closed. The gas stations were closed. Fast food restaurants, which consisted of McDonald's, were closed. People actually took a day of rest. We did all of our house cleaning on Saturday, so we did not even clean on Sundays. 


There was no email, no video games, no cellular phones, no VCRs or DVD players. There was no iPod, no XBox, no Wii; yet we were happy, well-adusted children who enjoyed playing outside. Most of the fresh fruit I ate as a child came from my own back yard. No, I did not live on a farm...I lived in the city where we had cherry, apple, peach and pear trees in the yard as well as grapes, blackberries and raspberries. 


The picture on the television was black & white. There were only 3 channels and broadcasting ended at 11:00 p.m. But guess what? My sister and I were never bored. We played board games or colored in our coloring books. We played with dolls or made up our own plays, which we subjected our parents to. We even once had a little acrobatic show on our back porch and charged admission. We climbed trees, rode bicycles, ran races with our neighbors, or read books. Life was much less complex. I thank God for technology, but there comes a point when we need to turn off the phones, ignore the email, turn off the television and iPads and just rest. How long can you do nothing without beginning to fidget and feel nervous inside?

Job 11:18-19¹¹⁸ 

“Then you would trust, because there is hope;

And you would look around and rest securely.

“You would lie down and none would disturb you,

And many would entreat your favor.

If God, who created the entire universe in six days rested on the seventh day, what makes you think you don't need rest? It is time to make an effort to rest and rejuvenate yourself.


I have learned the art of doing nothing and I have become fairly good at it.


Lord, thank You for Your rest. Help me to put down the phone, the iPad, the TV and rest in You!


I love You, Lord.