The Extra Day

Year 5-Day 329: Today...I am grateful "the extra day" between the holiday and the weekend. 

I have seen the quote, "I really need a day between Saturday and Sunday.". This image hits the mark better for me. I love the feeling of a completed work week, but a "Bridgeday" before the weekend would be wonderful to finish the "need to be done" tasks, that are not work related. 

Yesterday... the Friday after Thanksgiving... felt like the extra day between the holiday and the weekend. Some use it for Christmas shopping. Some use it for travel. Others, use it to take a deep breath and recover. I prefer the take a breath option best, although we did need the travel time. 

Extra time to not move so fast in the morning. Extra time to hang out with loved ones. For those fortunate enough to take the day off work... it is one of the best days of the year. If you love the crowds, chase them. If you hate the crowds, stay home with a cup of something warm. 

This weekend is for many the "more time" and often the "unscheduled time", if we protect the day. Christmas trees will go up. Pumpkins (unless you live in Morton, IL) get put away. Lights begin to twinkle in neighborhoods. Some early shoppers may get  their gifts wrapped. 

The day after Thanksgiving feels a little like moving incognito. People don't know if you are working or not working. Are you home or away? On that "extra day" you can be anywhere you feel the need to be. 

When the "time crunch" of this Christmas season begins to get the best of me, I still have choices.  I don't want to miss a moment with family... or the meaning of the manger.  I am comforted to know that Jesus felt the pressure of much to do and not enough time before the cross. He was fully human and fully God. I don't really understand it, but I wonder at it all. Especially in this holiday season.

Here is a passage from the no nonsense Mark's gospel. His eyes on Jesus. It expresses that Jesus felt the pressure of time, too His response was to prioritize: 

Leaving that region, they traveled through Galilee. Jesus didn’t want anyone to know he was there, for he wanted to spend more time with his disciples and teach them. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies. He will be killed, but three days later he will rise from the dead.” They didn’t understand what he was saying, however, and they were afraid to ask him what he meant. -Mark 9:30-32

They were traveling through Jesus home... through Galilee... but he wanted to pass through unnoticed. He knew he had a limited amount of time. He knew that the disciples would be left to show and share the gospel of love, mercy, redemption and hope when he returned to heaven. He had more to teach them. They didn't understand. 

What he did tell them, they could not fully understand. Still, he carved out time to be with them in fellowship and teachable moments. 

Today... the day after the "extra day"... savor the extended weekend. Make time for what is important. Let go of what isn't. Prioritize the precious, priceless and the practical over the pushiness of perfection. 

Today...I am grateful "the extra day" between the holiday and the weekend.