We need it. God knew from the beginning we would need margin, white space, breathing room, time. So he gifted it to us and then made it a way of loving him and worshiping him. It is not legalistic, but redemptive and life-giving. The Sabbath is at the core of God's good, creational intent.
Remembering the Sabbath takes preparation and sacrifice, but I promise it is so worth it. You and God get to determine what it looks like for you. The Jews' Sabbath began sundown on Friday and ended at sundown on Saturday. Their day of rest often began and ended with communal worship. The hard and fast "rule" of a weekly Sabbath is just that, it's weekly. It has always been a weekly remembering. You can't save up and then hope that a week-long trip to a cabin in the woods will make up for the missed Sabbaths of the last six months.
My family chooses to remember Sabbath on Saturdays because my husband or I have always worked at church. We begin our Sabbath some time on Friday night after homemade pizza and cleanup and end some time on Saturday night with me cleaning the kitchen (which I didn't touch all day). One of my rules of sabbath is: if I get paid for it, I can't do it. I love to sew, but sometimes I get paid to sew and I can get compulsive with deadlines, so no sewing for pay on Sabbath. I had to learn to make food ahead and allow for boxed mac n cheese. I had to decide it was ok for the children to eat cereal and watch media so I could sleep in. I had to learn that if we wanted to go on a family hike, I would have to pack lunches and hiking gear the day before. Sometimes I do "productive" things like garden, bake, or sew, but as soon as I start making it about task completion, I know I have turned the Sabbath into a get it done day and I stop. Maybe I just need to read in a hot bath. One of the most beautiful aspects of Sabbath is that by obeying God in what seems counterintuitive, your attention realigns toward God and he becomes more real every other day. You give him space in your life and heart. And it is good.
Want to dive deeper? Julie & Katrina discuss how to apply the weekly Sabbath in your life in this video.. Part 1 & Part 2