Thursday, July 14, 2016

A Time to Rest

We have been pushing at the full speed of a family vacation for the last two weeks. Then we came home and jumped into service at Church for Vacation Bible School. It began to feel like we were in the rat race of life. We all began to sound like a chorus of geese with laryngitis. So today we took a rest day.

I turned off my alarm. I locked the bedroom door so I could wake up on my own. I made sure there was breakfast fixings available for the older ones to help the younger one and themselves to. I slept. A glorious eight hours with an extra hour and a half of snoozing. It was wonderful and restorative.

I'm not sure why I don't do this all the time. Well, I know why. because life demands a lot from us. Being in the western world means we push thru whatever discomfort we have. The idea that we can not do something or need to take a break is seen as limiting as if we are deficient. It's seen as a bad mark on our character. The very concept of rest is taboo..

I'm calling foul.

Rest is necessary. It's a basic human need. Without proper rest we open ourselves to illness emotionally, physically and mentally. Farmers let fields rest. We encourage kids to rest. When did it become unacceptable for adults to nap? When you think about all the ways we have to perform and function as adults, we should be embracing our weekends as full sabbath rest days. Instead we fill them up with even more activities.

We don't have to live on a constant hamster wheel. We need to take a pause. Rest needs to be a conscious part of our lives. I would even go so far as to say that we should schedule it into our lives. Practice saying no. Set aside time for what brings you joy and restores you. It doesn't need to be sleep, but it does need to be restful. So think about that. What brings you joy? What brings your peace? What makes you feel rested? Think on it and then do it.


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