Holiday or Holy Day?

When dealing with a significant injury many things become a challenge. One of my difficulties with this is my inability to manage the many stimuli of attending religious services; lights, sounds, large crowds. In meeting with a family friend, he posed these thoughts.

"I think to myself what the difference is between making the Sabbath a Holy Day or treating it as a Holiday. Do you know what the real difference is? An "I". I try to think about who the activity will serve. If it serves others, I can do it. But, if it only serves myself, it can wait."

This thought brings home to me my own concerns of my faith. I am restricted in my participation, but what example am I setting for my children? Using religious resources I have found the following questions, questions to answer on your own concerning your own faith.

A few questions to answer.

• Do our actions set the Sabbath day apart as unique, different, and identifiable? (In a good and positive way.)
• Do we leave behind worldly pursuits and pleasures to focus on spiritual matters?
• Have we prepared for the Sabbath by completing some activities beforehand?
• Do we worship on the Sabbath day by attending all our meetings and worthily partaking of the sacrament/communion?
• Are we magnifying our callings? Do we serve to the best of our ability those we have covenanted to serve?
• Do we feel closer to God and Jesus Christ through our actions on the Sabbath?
• Are we strengthening family relationships on the Sabbath?
• Are we lifting and serving others as part of our Sabbath day observance?
• Do our Sabbath day activities rejuvenate us spiritually to meet the demands of the week?

Additional resources may be accessed at the following site and adapted for your own faith and cultural observances. Sabbath Day "Cans"

God bless and keep you in His ever present care.