Outside the Camp
I have never viewed being ‘outside the camp’ once a month in the desert as a bad thing.
It always looks like a glorious week off!
No children (except maybe the one you are currently breastfeeding), no chores, no responsibilities save taking care of yourself.
A monthly week off to visit with friends. To relax. To enjoy the company of other women and refresh. To be without the demands of everyday living.
And then to come back, having missed those you love, appreciating them so much more and ready to do what needs to be done with renewed vigor.
I have always viewed Sunday as a day of work. Children to be gotten ready, Sunday school to teach, music to be learned hurriedly before service, and a schedule that is completely out of synch with the rest of the week, that inevitably puts small children off kilter.
The anticipation of ‘rest’ and the reality of chaos.
The Sabbath is not a rest for a young mother. And I doubt it was much different in the desert. Children’s needs do not go away for a day.
In my mind, God ‘redeemed’ the working Sabbaths by giving young mothers a week away. And I was a little jealous of them.
Photo by Matija Barrett, effects by Kristin Andraka
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