My Maidservant

Because of goodly parents, I grew up observing the Sabbath as a holy day.

No work.

No shopping.

No television.

No playing outside.

And the wearing of appropriate Sunday attire - all day long.

I have always been grateful for my parents who expected us to live the fourth commandment.

And I do all that I can to teach and live the same for my children.

So today, I received an additional Sabbath tidbit - from above, mind you - when I realized that a load of washing hadn't made it into the dryer before the Sabbath came.

Boy, was I t.e.m.p.t.e.d. to place that one load into the dryer, casually throw in a dryer sheet, walk away and let it tumble dry.

So. little. work. for. me.

And then, almost immediately as the thought of temptation turned nigh into action, this part of the fourth commandment caught my heart:

But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates.

That's when I asked myself this curious question, "Could my dryer be considered a manservant or a maidservant?"

Okay, definitely NOT a manservant. . .

But I put down the lid to the washer anyway. I was being taught what I needed to know.

And I'll wait until Monday to get that maidservant to work for me.