Six was a pretty solid age for me.
My mom quit putting pink, sponge rollers in my hair. I knew without a doubt that Santa was, in fact, real. I received a gold-plated M & M necklace as a gift, and I was no longer required to rest.
See, I hated rest. Napping was abandoned years earlier, but up until six-years-old, my mom required me to rest each afternoon. Spending any amount of time stuck in my room while life sped on seemed totally unreasonable.
Fast forward thirty years and I still struggle with rest.
This week I cancelled four obligations, two of which have been planned for months. Now, maybe you think I cancelled these four things because I realized I needed rest. Um, good guess, but no. The real reason I cancelled these four obligations is because they conflict with four other obligations.
That’s hard to admit because if you told me you needed to attend eight different activities in one week, I would shake my head and tsk-tsk at you. Then, I’d remind you of the importance of leading a slow life, and that busyness can be an idol.
But sometimes, Busy sneaks up on you, and although you don’t schedule basketball tournaments, extra work meetings, and trips to another state to buy a new car because yours is crap-o-la (insert loud sigh), Busy happens. And sometimes we can’t control Busy.
The solution? Embrace rest.
Pencil it in. Scratch it out. Make it happen. It’s that important.
Secret forts, pinecone wars, and basketball tournaments can wait. Rest cannot.
Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Mark 6:31
Question for you: How have you embraced rest today?: :
Image credit.
35 comments:
I have time to myself, I finished a book, made dinner, threw in some laundry, shoveled the driveway and paid a few bills. See, I call this restful, no obligations to be anywhere (until 3) no work, no need to dress a certain way (work) no pressures, this is rest. I can pray inbetween (grunts of shoveling) I can reflect on what I read in my bible last night, and meditate on the expectations God has for me, and how will I be a Godly wife and mother after 3? All with no distractions. I hope you too are able to rest.
pinecone wars were the best!!!!
haven't embraced rest today....i struggle with this too....i will take a nap when I'm exhausted but i am a goer and doer and fight the rest of nothingness. good post for me to think on today. does reading your blog count as rest?
This was beautiful and truly true! I find myself on fast-forward so many times, but we do need to take time out though....I find my best "rest time" is walking around in my yard with my iPod praising God for the beautiful scenes in nature....of course I do look a little silly when I break out dancing to a particularly great praise-worthy song ~ God bless my neighbors :-)
I look at my endless to-d0 list and think I am going to get ALL THAT done in ONE day. Never. I have this year been trying to honor sabbath more as a day of rest and with God. At least ONE Sunday so far I have made it but not all.
I attended a retreat a few years back where the leader had us stand slowly for songs and prayers. I was so used to jumping up or at least moving quickly - that it really taught me to slow down. Moving slowly, thinking slowly , resting slowly - so far from my actual behavior.
HA, I am even typing this out quickly.
Good thoughts, Amy. You made me stop, think and rest today.
There is no rest for the weary in my home today. However, I cling to the verse, "come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest", because I know that even if I can't PHYSICALLY rest, my soul can still find rest in my Heavenly Father, and he can restore my energy and multiply my time. Praise God for that!
I do not struggle with rest. I tend to struggle with being busy. I forget that God can be honored with my productivity! I always love to read your words!
Yesterday I layed in bed with my daughter and watched hours of Downton Abbey which is big for me. I often feel like I have to be accomplishing something. So your thoughts here are well taken. Always love it when you visit. You encourage me so. Thank you!
This is a challenge for me Amy. Rest? Me? A slow life?
Hmm. Lots to chew on here.
Jean,
I like what you said about standing slowly.
I tend to do everything in a hurry-up kind of way. I've noticed when I make the effort to just drive a little slower, talk a little slower, and live a little slower, it makes rest easier to find.
To the rest of you lovelies,
Thank you for reading and encouraging...always fun to hear your voices.
I snoozed a little extra longer this morning, enjoying my fleece sheets, thinking about my day, and thanking God for my many gifts. It was a nice time, even if I kept drifting in and out of sleep. I might do it again tomorrow!
Pinecone wars and forced naps. Are we sisters? :)
Thanks for the reminder to keep a look out for that sneaky, sneaky busy-monster. He often finds me.
I rest, as I will guess your mom did as well, when my two little ones are "resting" Ha! and my daughter hates it as much as you did (she is six. You sounded just like her in that opening paragraph).
But, the truth is I don't rest. I work while they nap, I work while they play, I work while they go to bed. Funny you should post this because my husband is currently on my case about resting. Sigh. Will seek wisdom on this, friend.
Busy does tend to sneak up on a person. I'm in sort of a slow place in my life right now, but I'm not entirely sure it's rest. More like restlessness.
My husband is very good at rest. He works harder than just about anyone I know, but when he's got down time scheduled, he's all in. No cell phone, no email. He's very good at untethering.
He's also adorable. Just thought I'd throw that in there :)
Hmmm. Your post causes me to pause and reflect, once again, about rest. Earlier this year a friend & I were talking. She mentioned something that I later penciled in large letters ...Relief is not Rest. Jesus calls us to Him and He will give us Rest. Hmmm. So I am looking for a definition of Rest. And I can Sooo relate to tsking others about their busyness while canceling my double-booked ness. This Rest question. It is a good one to be asking about.
Love this Amy! Also I really want a gold-plated M&M necklace even though I'm an adult... :)
I take at least 1 day a week and spend some of the day in rest. Reading or a nap or a long shower... something that is just for me. As an introvert I need that time to recharge a little and just be me. Thanks for the reminder we all need rest.
Amy, I hear you! I struggle with taking time to rest as well. I had to laugh about you scheduling things that conflict--I do that all the time. Thanks for this great reminder.
Your Jetta? You have to replace the Jetta? But I have sat in the Jetta. You must pull out the seat so you still have something of me to remember. Oh, but wait! You still have the jumper cables that nice man gave us, right? Just put those in a frame and we shall call it good, Jetta seat or no.
and rest, well. We all know my struggle on that one.
Ah yes, just to lean into Him, close our eyes, hear His Heartbeat...
Jean's suggestion about rising slowly was great and I've started doing just that...but it's cuz my ol' chicken bones just don't move fast any more :)
:} yes sister...you remember ok? or else the LORD might send you to Africa FOR LIFE because you need immersion in the slower pace;} but that would be a happy surprise wouldn't it?:} we had a sweet weekend of rest...oh simply divine, you know this, right:} God is so good!
I often have Monday and Tuesday as my days of rest, as often as I can, seeing as I have a 5 year old and a 15 month old. Though, my family had small group tonight I rested for most of the day, other than laundry. I find having resting days are a must!
Thanks for writing about the very subject I was thinking about this morning--looking out my office window, wishing my job wasn't all about being in a constant state of gotta-do-this-now. Time to sit. Time to reflect. Time to breathe. Time to rest.
Oh, Busy sneaks up on you, indeed. I am in the midst of embracing rest, yet again. Seems to be an ongoing pattern/ritual/struggle.
Popping over from Soli Deo Gloria.
Blessings,
Sandy
It was sunny yesterday and despite the pressing to-do list, I was determined to enjoy the sunshine. I took a gloriously rest in the goat barn in a pile of straw with the kids and mamas milling all around me. As they came and went I listened to the cold, fresh silence. When I rest with my girls I learn about life.
well, this week BUSY has absolutely. taken. over. me.
all i can say is i seek prayer. fervently.
and then it will be over in a poof! and i'll go about seeking rest. which oftentimes has to happen simply in my head. and heart.
as my sister told me today. . . there are many things I MUST hold in my life. my job is to allow HIM to hold me.
hold me, Jesus, please.
loved reading this today, amy.
hugs,
steph
Hmm. .
Interesting that you write this the day that I sign my sons up for "mega-soccer". . .you know, the team where they practice all the time and games can be "away" . . .like two hours away?
And I am wondering, when will we rest?
Yes, I need to be sure we rest. All of us. And I thank you for this very timely post.
Balancing all the plates can be hard? Yes?
Hmm. .
Interesting that you write this the day that I sign my sons up for "mega-soccer". . .you know, the team where they practice all the time and games can be "away" . . .like two hours away?
And I am wondering, when will we rest?
Yes, I need to be sure we rest. All of us. And I thank you for this very timely post.
Balancing all the plates can be hard? Yes?
There is just something wrong with our society that we need to schedule rest. I don't disagree with you, I just find it sad that that is what we are dealing with. I am sort of starting to agree with your friend that moving to Africa might help this. Not that that is the answer for everyone, but some of these other countries have a lot to teach us westerners about slowing down and enjoying life and each other. Thanks for the post!
I am not a rester, not at all. But I am still keeping up my habit of leaving work just a few minutes earlier than normal, so that I can sit in my car with the heat on and rest for a few minutes while I wait for the kids to get out of school. I usually sit in complete quiet - no phone, no radio -- and just look out the window. It's amazing what 8 or 9 minutes can do, really. That sounds kind of pathetic, doesn't it?
We must have had the same childhood. I hated resting. It wasn't until I could read a good novel that I embraced it. Now with all the busyness of my life, rest is a word I struggle with. When I do rest, I think I'm being lazy or I'm highjacked in my rest time by little people who have given up napping themselves. Thank you for reminding me to schedule a rest time somewhere in my day and to embrace it and think of it in the positive.
Michelle D.
Pathetic? Nope! A smarty? Yep!
Loraine,
I'll start packing for Africa now.
He Sees Me,
A mega soccer traveling team? Ohhhh, maybe you can rest in the car (like during the games!). Ha!
Ah, rest. Yes. Hmmm. 'Must try harder' says my report card.
I kid myself that I'm made of such strong stuff that I can dig deeper, keep going longer. As if it's an achievement to push myself. It's not, of course.
When my boys were tiny I used the checklist - hungry? bored? tired? I still use it sometimes. it's probably a checklist I should use with myself, too.
(& thank you for stopping by at my blog - I'm usually known just as Deborah - & I see you popping up in lots of other blogs I visit, too!)
I like rest in different ways ... sometimes it is listening to music, or reading a book, or taking a walk, or having long chats with my daughters. I was not made to hurry. :-)
Fondly,
Glenda
You might find this funny, but I hated napping, too. So much so, that I would make deals with my mother if I had to go to a sitter's house. She had to promise me I wouldn't have to nap. I wasn't a demanding type of child, but this was one area that made me so uncomfortable. I didn't want to miss anything. Now, having struggled with some physical issues, I still hate to rest, but it is not always an option for me. The biggest hurdle is not to feel guilt over the times of rest. When I need them, there is no other cure.
Love it when you write about you :)
Post a Comment