What the Sabbath means to me
Mary Dell Wallace

A little family history My Father, Earl Boyd, grew up on a farm in South Dakota, the descendant of Presbyterian ministers. The stories Dad told made Sunday sound almost
like the way we later kept the Sabbath.

Dad studied the Bible on his own and with others. About the time I was seven years old, Dad decided we should be keeping the Sabbath on Saturday. He was also convinced that there should be a church called the Church of God that kept the Sabbath day on Saturday. In the library in Bend, OR, he found a book listing churches. In that he found the Church of God (7th Day) with an address in Salem, WV.

Dad usually kept us kids pretty busy with chores around the place. But when we started keeping the Sabbath, things became much easier for us one day a week. Of course, the animals still had to be fed and taken care of, but there were no extra chores.

Over time we moved to be close to churches. We attended camp-meetings and became more acquainted with Sabbath keepers. We even lived in the area around Salem, WV, for about three years.

The Sabbath became a part of our lives. I went back to Salem for my sophomore year of college at the then Seventh Day Baptist college there.

Once I visited a family who had been our neighbors back when our family had lived there. Something was said about the Sabbath. One of these neighbors said, “You don’t have to keep that old Sabbath. Your parents aren’t around to see what you are doing.” I responded with, “I do not keep the Sabbath for my parents. I keep it because that is the  way I believe.”

I now live in a retirement community where I eat my meals in the dining room. I have had to make adjustments here. There was one Seventh Day Adventist lady living here when I moved in. So the people here were not completely unaware.

Because I don’t want to have the staff here serving me on the Sabbath, I eat my Sabbath meals in my apartment. I do have a kitchen and keep food in it. If there is to be a potluck on Sabbath, I prepare food in my little kitchen on Friday. I basically have the Sabbath as an oasis. I rarely interact with the other people living here on that day. I go to Church,  enjoy the potluck there, if there is one, and spend the day much as I would if I were still living in my house. I sometimes visit someone in the hospital or nursing home on my way home from Church.

The Sabbath is a day to spend time with my Creator and fellowship with those of like faith. I am very thankful for it.