STOP

It’s time to put the brakes on.

Brisbane’s Anglican Archbishop, Phillip Aspinall, is being reported as saying that we should take it easy on Sunday. No, not just this Sunday, every Sunday. He suggests that we should reclaim Sundays for family, friends and community life.

I think he’s got a point. We’ve made our lives so busy that we’re going flat out every day of the week. Sure, we might have a day or two away from our jobs over the weekend but we have become extremely skilled at replacing the frantic activity of our working week with other kinds of frantic activity on Saturday and Sunday.

Sunday used to be known as a day of rest but that’s no longer the case.

In the past even those who weren’t church goers would put Sunday aside as a day of relaxation, catching up with family and recharging for the week ahead. These days, Sunday has become like any other day of the week with more and more shops and businesses opening their doors and the majority of the population using the day to extend their already hectic schedule. Family and friends are being crowded out of our lives as they battle to find space for an appointment in our PDAs. Even when we do make time for those close to us it’s difficult to find a time that fits everyone else’s schedule.

I wonder how different life would look if we decided to turn back the hands of time and used Sunday as a time to rest, recharge and reflect.

We were never designed to run at 100% all of the time. We need to take time out for the sake of our minds, bodies and souls. If we want to reduce stress we need to restructure our time and take our Sundays back. Sure, we get a few hours here and there on different days but how much better would it be if we took an entire day to focus on the things that really matter; family, friends and faith?

We are the product of incredible design and we can handle enormous pressures and stresses if we only take time out to reconnect with the source of life.

Are you prepared to go against the flow and reclaim what your busy schedule has stolen from you? Maybe that’s a good start to your New Year’s Resolutions.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

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