Rest

Sometimes, we go and go and then go some more. We push on, strive to complete or just doggedly keep pursuing some goal that seems to stay out of reach. We can all agree, this isn’t the best way.

Rest. Some have a hard time allowing rest to find a place in our lives. Rest seems like the enemy. Rest seems the opposite of accomplishment. Rest seems to be a spurned idea.

Rest is Godly. God rested. Jesus got away by Himself at times. Rest is hardwired, since we are created in God’s image. Rest is important, it is necessary and it is ok that we need it.

Rest renews, it recharges and it empowers us. My watch has a “body battery” and it measures how well I rest overnight and puts a numerical identifier on it. Often, I can tell that I did not get restful and replenishing sleep overnight and the watch tells me the same thing.

Rest is not laziness. It is not shirking off the things we need to complete. Rest is a part of the process by which we can do the things we need to get done. Think of it like a battery.

There is a time in which we cannot use a digital device without plugging it back in and allowing it to recharge. We are like that, we need time to rest, to recharge, to recoup from the draining tasks we face each day. We need downtime.

Plan it into your day. You will make time for what is important. Plop down on the couch and just hug on your kids while propping your feet up for a few. Curl up in a comfortable char with a book. Sit in a boat or a tree stand. Camp. Sit by a fire pit. Have dinner with friends.

Rest. Get away. Relax. Do it for your health, do it for your creativity, do it for your spouse, do it for YOU. You are the one that needs it and you will be the one to benefit from it. It will also spill over into others who do life with you.

You won’t be as short-tempered. You won’t be as on edge. You’ll be nicer, more pleasant. You’ll be healthier. You’ll be the you that God wants you to be.

Rest. Relax. Take it easy. Chill. Hang out. Do whatever it takes to just tune out the stressors in your life. Excuse me while I go jump in a hammock, or kick my feet up, or enjoy a relaxing camp fire.