Ep 9 | Why Sabbath Feels Impossible with Kids (But Isn’t)

If you have young kids, chances are you’ve had this thought before:
“Sabbath sounds wonderful… but maybe we’ll try it when life settles down.”
We get it.
When your days are filled with diapers, dishes, spilled milk, sibling arguments, and never-ending laundry, the idea of a peaceful day of rest can feel almost impossible. Sometimes it feels like just making it through the day is enough.
For years, we’ve practiced Sabbath with little kids. We’ve welcomed seven children into our family, and not one of those Sabbaths has been perfectly quiet.
But we’ve learned something surprising along the way.
Sabbath was never meant to depend on a quiet house.
It was meant to change our hearts.

A Different Picture of Rest

When most people picture Sabbath, they imagine a peaceful cabin, a quiet living room, or an uninterrupted morning with coffee and a Bible.
That may happen someday.
But if you’re raising young children, your Sabbath will probably include crying babies, messy meals, interrupted prayers, and someone asking for another snack five minutes after lunch.
And that’s okay.
One of the biggest shifts we’ve had to make is realizing that Sabbath isn’t about controlling our environment. It’s about surrendering our hearts.
A loud home can still be a holy home.

Your Kids Aren’t Interrupting Sabbath

One of our favorite moments from this week’s podcast was inviting our ten-year-old daughter, Ella, to share what Sabbath means to her.
She talked about game nights, puzzles, trips to the hot springs, and slow evenings watching a favorite show with her sisters. When we asked if she thought she’d continue practicing Sabbath someday after leaving home, she smiled and said, “Probably.”
That answer meant more than she knows.
Because our goal has never been to create perfect Saturdays.
Our goal has been to show our children that life with Jesus includes both work and rest.
Sometimes we forget that our kids aren’t keeping us from practicing Sabbath.
They’re learning it alongside us.
They’re watching how we slow down. They’re learning what it looks like to trust God enough to stop working. They’re discovering that family doesn’t always have to be rushing from one thing to the next.
Those lessons may last much longer than we realize.

Let Go of the Perfect Picture

One mistake we see often is believing Sabbath has to look beautiful to be meaningful.
Maybe you’ve seen peaceful family photos online or beautifully prepared dinners by candlelight.
We love sharing glimpses of our Sabbath too.
But those pictures are only small moments.
Most of our Sabbath happens behind closed doors.
Sometimes dinner is homemade.
Sometimes it’s frozen pizza on paper plates.
Sometimes the house is spotless.
Other weeks, laundry is still sitting on the couch because everyone got sick before Sabbath began.
Neither changes the holiness of the day.
God made the Sabbath holy.
We don’t have to.

The Secret Happens Before Sabbath Begins

One lesson we’ve learned over the years is simple:
The peace of your Sabbath is often decided the day before.
Preparation changes everything.
That doesn’t mean you need to spend Friday trying to create the perfect home. It simply means asking yourself:
“What would help me truly rest tomorrow?”
Maybe it’s putting away the laundry.
Maybe it’s grocery shopping ahead of time.
Maybe it’s preparing dinner in advance.
Or maybe it’s asking your kids to help straighten up the living room before bedtime.
Small acts of preparation create room for a slower tomorrow.

Think in Moments, Not Perfection

When we look back over years of Sabbaths, we don’t remember whether the house was clean.
We remember the moments.
Family game nights.
Root beer floats after an unexpected water balloon fight.
Lingering around the dinner table because nobody had anywhere else to be.
Slow mornings in pajamas.
Walks together.
The conversations that happened simply because we had finally made enough margin for them to happen.
Those moments didn’t require perfection.
They required presence.

Grace Is Part of the Rhythm

If you’re just beginning, give yourself permission to be new.
Your first Sabbath probably won’t look like your fiftieth.
You may accidentally check your email.
Your toddler may throw a tantrum.
Your kids might argue more than you’d like.
That doesn’t mean Sabbath isn’t working.
Formation takes time.
Just like you wouldn’t expect to run a marathon without training, you can’t expect one Sabbath to completely reshape your family rhythms overnight.
But week after week, something beautiful begins to happen.
Your heart slows down.
Your family starts anticipating the day.
Your children begin to understand that rest isn’t laziness—it’s part of how God designed us to live.

Start Where You Are

If you’ve been waiting for the perfect season to begin practicing Sabbath, this is your encouragement to stop waiting.
You don’t need a quiet house.
You don’t need older kids.
You don’t need everything figured out.
You simply need one intentional step.
Choose a few hours this week. Put it on the calendar. Turn off your notifications. Share a slow meal. Play a board game. Go for a walk. Read Scripture together. Leave the dishes until tomorrow.
You may be surprised by what God does in the space you make for Him.

If you’d like to hear more practical encouragement and stories from our own family’s journey, we’d love for you to listen to this week’s episode of The Rooted Family Podcast, Why Sabbath Feels Impossible with Kids (But Isn’t) above. We pray it gives you the confidence to begin creating a rhythm of rest that blesses your family for years to come.