THE 72 (ALMOST)

365 Days of Thanksliving — Day 215

Back in my swabbie days, we cherished when holidays came around, especially when they were on or near a weekend. Now, who doesn’t love a holiday? I do. I bet you do also. Besides us, if anybody looks forward to the holidays it’s certainly our government—any excuse to take more time off than allotted to us civvy types gets a hallelujah.

Tomorrow being the 250th anniversary of our nation’s birth, many of us will be celebrating in one way or the other. But that’s tomorrow, on Saturday. Chances are, lots of you had to work today, and you’ll probably have to work on Monday too. Some of us even have to work on Sunday also: medical workers, public safety officers, farmers, and ministry folks to name a few.

But wouldn’t it be nice to have four full days off, without having to take vacation? That there is what the military calls a 96. And as you might have guessed from the title, a “72” is three full days without having to report for work.

Now, I’m not jealous in any way, truly. My wife was forced to take PTO today, giving her 72 hours off. While I gotta preach on Sunday, and worked a partial day today ('cause my sermon was already in progress); with just four hours today and a few hours on Sunday, well, that’s less than a full day’s work. One might say I’m on an almost 72. Wahoo!

While the wifey went to Mankato today to run errands, I stayed home and watched the doggos. We worked a bit, played lots of ball, they “helped” me eat lunch, then we watched podcasts for four hours. It was a glorious rest.

Today began almost 72 hours of glorious rest. And while Sunday is kind of a workday, when you do what you love, it’s not as much work but a work of love. Today, I’m thankful for almost 72 hours of rest. Like you, and like our nation’s servicemen and women, I too need time to rest.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the long weekend. Give us all the rest we need, so that we can be better for you, and better for America in all that we think, say, and do. Amen.