Today is one of those days that would’ve meant no blog post if I were stuck in making it perfect. I had misc things going on that broke up my time (so I didn’t have a good solid block to sit and write) and then this evening my body was starting to feel not so happy. Hubby has had a cold thing the past few days and I refuse to say I’m coming down with it! 😀  But you’ve been warned…I’m not sure I’m fully awake while I write this. You may need the gift of interpretation to figure out what I’m trying to say hee hee.

It’s amusing to me that God put today’s topic in my head earlier today and here I sit knowing that tomorrow is very much going to be a rest day as much as I can help it…because my body is likely going to demand it. Unfortunately way too often over my lifetime my body has been the one who has had to demand the rest. It’s gone on strike, said “sorry if you’re not gonna stop and give me what I need, then I’m going on vacation and interfering with your plans” With the way the past month has gone, I wouldn’t be surprised if my body is taking over!

I do not rest well by nature. My mind is usually active unless I intentionally shut it off or at least turn it down to a low hum. I’m always coming up with new ideas, ways to make life better, etc. I also don’t tend to do well with just sitting around. I struggle with feeling like I should be doing something. Especially if I’m staring at all the things I should be doing…like cleaning house. Sometimes it’s not even a ‘should’ but a ‘want to’ like when I get the urge to do something crafty with paper and other scrap booking supplies.

But several years ago, as I began the recovery process after getting to the point where my body was so worn down it could barely sit up, God showed me how resting is productive. Resting should be on our ‘to do list’. So often in this world of ‘busy’ being a badge of honor, having to keep up with the Joneses, get more, do more, always stop moving, we feel like resting is a waste of time. Setting aside a Saturday to rest and saying ‘sorry that day isn’t free’ when someone asks if you can get together just feels rude. But what is this busy-ness costing us? Are we really able to fully enjoy life when we’re just focused on going from one thing to the other and trying to survive through the day until you can attempt to go to sleep at night, just to stay up too late working on something or trying to solve life’s problems…which means not getting enough sleep that night just to wake up the next morning to start all over? I know that’s a long run on sentence, but how often and easily can life feel like one long run-on sentence?

Our language has periods and reasons to pause, shouldn’t our lives have them too?

Instead of living in the world’s economy of busy-ness and exhaustion, I’d rather live in God’s economy of rest, peace and strength. I’d rather set boundaries and know what my God-given priorities are so I can make decisions for how to spend my time & energy accordingly. Instead of getting up every day with MY to do list and ways to go about it, I’d rather get up every day and ask God for His wisdom and direction.  As the saying goes, some say they don’t have time to spend restful quiet time with God…but reality is that we really don’t have the time NOT to!

Image credit: Erin Kass Photography