Protecting Sabbath

I found myself wondering what to call this post: Protecting Sabbath or Taking Back Sabbath. Both feel true.

Sabbath is meant to be a time set apart for rest and worship. Yet in the pace of modern life, that can feel almost impossible.

A month ago, our family took a last-minute trip to British Columbia. It was a beautiful break—two long days of driving there, four full days of visiting and exploring, and two days home. But during the drive, my husband and I kept coming back to the same thought: the amount of work it took to leave, and the overwhelming amount waiting for us when we returned.

It almost made the trip feel heavy instead of restful.

And I realized—I often feel the same way about Sabbath.

Weekends feel short. There is always more to do. If I do not use those two days to catch up, how will I be ready for Monday? It becomes a constant cycle of rushing, rather than resting.

But then a simple thought shifted everything:

What if I truly set it apart as sacred?

Sabbath is not about rules. It is about relationship.

And when I fill that day with errands, activities, and constant motion, I am not just busy—I am unintentionally taking away from something meant to restore me.

Recently, this became very real in a small but meaningful way. My youngest daughter was invited to a birthday sleepover that ran from Saturday afternoon into Sunday afternoon. It did not sit right with me—and interestingly, it did not sit right with her either.

I prayed for wisdom. I did not want to turn this into a rule or obligation. I did not want to say, “You have to go to church.” That approach rarely leads to lasting faith.

Instead, what came out surprised me.

I told her, “It is important for us to spend time with our church family.”

In all my reading about Sabbath, I had seen two consistent themes: rest and worship.

But in that moment, I realized there was a third piece:

Family.

This shifted everything.

Now, when I walk into church on Sunday, I no longer see it as just a place of worship. I see it as a family gathering. A place where we show up for one another, support one another, and grow together.

It has brought a new freedom to my worship.

We linger longer. We talk. We laugh. We pray. Sometimes we are the last ones to leave, still visiting when everyone else has gone. (I am learning to plan ahead with snacks so no one reaches that desperate “I need to eat now” moment.)

Our church is not perfect. No family is. There are moments of hurt, misunderstanding, and growth.

But that is what family does—we learn, we heal, and we grow together.

I am not looking for perfection in my life. I am looking for growth.

And Sabbath has become a part of that growth.

For me, it is now a day rooted in:

• Rest

• Worship

• Family

And because of that, it is something worth protecting.

This is still a learning process. It requires intention and discipline. But I know it matters—not just for me, but for my family. I want to model what it looks like to honour what is sacred.

I even created a simple reminder—a screensaver on my phone that says Sabbath. Each time I see it, I am reminded to pause, to put the phone down, and to invest in what truly matters.

Sabbath is not something I have mastered.

But it is something I am choosing to protect.

What does Sabbath look like for you?