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Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Another Sunday Down South

I'll be eternally grateful to my parents for many things.  One in particular is the teaching that Sunday is a day of rest.  The only time I ever remember working on Sunday was in March 2009, after a 6" rain on Saturday night that nearly destroyed a field of plastic mulch to be planted in watermelons.  The proverbial ox was in the ditch, and if we didn't get the edges of the plastic covered with dirt, the high winds that day would have destroyed the field by Monday.  Not only did we work all day with shovels in our hands, about 75 neighbors and church family turned out to help us too.

That, however, is the exception to the rule.  We go to church twice on Sundays, so it's not like we lay around in the bed all day.  Matter of fact, some Sundays wind up being as busy as any other day.  Get the kids ready for Sunday School, go to Grandma's after church to eat lunch, maybe take a little Sunday drive or a nap, get ready for church again, and then hurry home to get in bed before another busy week.

Still, with all the busy-ness, Sunday has a different feel to it.  There is a slowing down of the state of mind.  There is no rush, no deadline, nowhere else to be, nothing else that absolutely must be done.  For many weeks out of the year, Sunday is the only day of the week that we get any actual face time with our friends.  It's a day to spend some much needed time away from the farm; to realize that there are other things to think about besides how dry it is, how high fertilizer is, and how cheap prices are.  It's a day to actually spend some quality time with your wife and kids.  Most importantly, it is a day of worship; a time to reflect on the many blessings of life and be thankful.

I feel a certain sympathy towards those who choose to work seven days a week, and those that have no choice in the matter.  When do they recharge their batteries?  How do they make it day after day without a break?  I've never known that feeling, and I hope I never do.  Let me encourage you; if at all possible, take a break this Sunday.  Go to church, go visit your family. Just slow down a little, sit on your front porch, and drink some of the nectar of life (flavored with lemon).  That's how we do it Down South.

10 comments:

  1. So proud of you Trevor... this is all very true and well stated. After having to work every other weekend for nearly four years now as a nurse, working on Sundays still doesn't seem right. I assume it never will.
    -your cousin,
    Lane

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  2. Thanks so much, Lane. I know lots of people don't have the luxury of being able to take Sunday's off. It's a sacrifice I know. Thanks for reading & commenting!

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  3. Full disclosure, I'm Trevor's brother. The only other Sunday I remember working was when we bogged a cotton picker down late one Saturday afternoon. They were predicting a lot of rain so we worked late in the night Saturday and didn't get it out until that Sunday afternoon. I've seen the time that we had acres of peanuts in the dirt and a hurricane on the way. We would work until 11:59 Saturday night, but not on Sunday. We would drive by the neighbors working on our way to Sunday school. I've never seen a time when I thought not working cost us. I believe if you give God his time he will honor you.

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  4. Thats the way of life that most people have forgotten. I always look forward to the weekend and being in church with family and friends, but not only that for a day set aside to worship the one who created all that we enjoy.

    John Padgett

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  5. Robert B. SpiresMay 1, 2012 at 9:36 PM

    Trevor, this needs to be in the Atlanta Journal.......Bennie

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  6. Love this...Trevor...It is so true. This is how I was brought up to. Sunday is a day of rest.

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  7. Love this...God has blessed you with many talents!!!!

    Angela(Aunt)

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    1. Thanks, hope you all are doing well. Thanks for reading and commenting.

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  8. Just found your "writings" Trevor. This particular one reverberates my feelings exactly! Thanks for sharing. I enjoyed it so much.
    Your cousin, Jean Carol

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