Saturday Morning Cartoons Replacement: Time with Jesus

I grew up in the 80s, the heyday of Saturday morning cartoons. Bugs Bunny, Road Runner, and Elmer Fudd, to name a few. I’ll be honest in saying I’m not even sure if kids watch Saturday morning cartoons anymore. Cable TV is a thing of the past, and on demand, television provides access to their favorites at all times. They don’t need to wait for Saturday morning to come.

In the years I raised my kids, Saturday morning cartoons were still a thing. I remember using their distraction as a time to catch up on household chores, sit a read a book, or plan for the week. Now, my kids are grown and out of the house. No need for Saturday morning cartoons and as such, Saturday became another day to work and produce at high levels. However, I’ve been trying to have a different Saturday morning routine recently. After working hard during the week, hustling and bustling to meet the demands of work, running a house, and serving others, I have been trying to spend Saturday mornings with Jesus. Sunday was my day of fellowship at church with others. I still needed some one-on-one time with Jesus.

What does this look like? I don’t think there is a set way to spend time with Jesus. When I decided to do this, I asked myself what brings me peace in mind, heart, and body. I’m a highly sensitive person, so sensory stimuli influence my state of being to a pretty high degree. One thing that brings me peace is quiet, slow movement, warmth, and comfort. Starting the day with a little extra time just lying in bed praising God with gratitude sets the tone. The next step is a cup of tea with my Bible meditation in a comfortable chair, covered in a warm, soft blanket and a journal. Finally, playing a few hymns or praise and worship songs on the piano eases me into the remainder of the day.

A couple of weeks ago, it came to my attention that I had created a worship ritual. On Saturday mornings, the time I had became a ritual of praise and worship to God. Ritual helps to create rhythms in our lives. My Saturday morning routine has started to create notes of rest and worship in the rhythm of my life. I hadn’t realized when I started how very much I needed these notes to create a more beautiful melody in my life. I hadn’t realized that I had been sowing notes of discord by my busyness and striving.

Now, I know that if I were still in the midst of raising kids, this scenario would look a lot different. First of all, this ritual would probably be in the evening rather than a Saturday morning. I also know that I’ve had to be flexible even in the short time I have been doing this. Some Saturdays are full of activities for family or work, and I need to postpone or reschedule my ritual time. Despite all that, I have come to realize that this ritual time with Jesus is important. I need to be flexible, but I also need to be diligent in making sure that this time doesn’t die a slow and painful death to the modern schedules of busyness.

I encourage each of you to find one-on-one time with Jesus beyond just a daily devotional. This may be something like I’ve described. It could be that each time you are driving alone, you devote that time to Jesus because that is all you have right now. It could be that you stay up later or get up earlier. It could be that you say no to those lunch meetings and devote your meal break to Jesus. I do a daily devotional, but this special time on Saturdays has become something I crave. It restores my soul in a way that I can’t describe well in words. He restores my soul, leads me to rest, and fills me with hope, love, and joy.

We would love to hear about your worship rituals. Please share in the comments below.

Contributed by Liz Hunt