Let’s Talk About Rest…
Most, if not all, of my blog posts have been sharing tips and routines that I have working on for a while. I wait until I know something works and then share how it’s worked for me. For example, I’ve had an evening routine for years now. I can’t even remember how long we’ve been doing the nightly pickup. And it works. Years of practice has shown that. This blog post is different. Today I’m taking you on a journey that I am still in the first mile of.
Backing up a little bit. The Lord has been dealing with me about rest for a while. And I’ve done some of it. I’ve worked on not working so often after dinner and taking a day here or there to just be with my family and put the laptop and projects to the side. But I have not been as consistent as I should with all of this.
Let’s be real. Rest is something we allude to a lot. Or say something like, “yeah, I know I need to rest more. But I’m just so busy!” I know I’ve said it. And I think that’s one of the reasons we don’t want to talk about it. Who wants to be the person who declares, “I’m taking one day off a week.” or “I am dedicating a Sabbath each week.” And then have the rest of the world look at you like you must be bored. Or not nearly as busy as the rest of us. What a luxurious life you must lead to be able to rest. And there is the problem. First of all, we get to choose. And secondly, God calls us to it.
How did we get here as a society where being so busy you can’t come up for air is a badge of honor? Burning the candle at both ends must mean I am super important! But instead we are finding that we are suffering from burnout, and anxiety, and health issues that stem from stress. Maybe being so busy isn’t as great as it sounds.
I am in a heavy season in life. It’s one of those where I am doing a lot of things that I am passionate about and love. And I don’t see this season letting up any time soon. And I have found myself very tired. Very weary and worn out.
After hearing what seemed like the 100th nudge from God, this one came from a message I heard taught at a conference, I told my husband that I wanted to listen and we needed to get back to a day of rest. So he declared, “Let’s do it! Wednesday looks good on the calendar!” I stuttered a little about how this week was probably not good because it looked busy and…. he interrupted me. “Are we doing this or not?”
You know what? I have found that on the weeks (there have only been a few so far, I told you I’m just getting started) that I’ve taken time to rest and refresh, I have been so much more productive on those other days than I was when I just ran nonstop.
I encourage you to watch my YouTube video. (Linked above and HERE.) I sat down with about 3 little words for notes and shared my heart about where I am in this journey. Each time I have shared with you about rest on Instagram I am flooded with messages of “yeah, I need this!” Because we all do. We actually MUST rest.
I can’t wait to hear back from you. Are you like me and know that enough is enough and we have to take some time to rest and recuperate? Maybe you are a lot further along on this journey and I’d love to hear what works for you!
Rest isn’t just margin for goodness. It is what allows us to create margin in our lives.