A few weeks ago, I woke up at 12:30 am and never fell back asleep. I know I’m not alone when I say that I couldn’t shut my mind off. The client tasks to do the next day, the Christmas gift to order, the meal to prep. Once I got on a tangent of one thing needing to be done, I spiraled into all the things.
Every hour of most of my days is spoken for. Get up, listen to a podcast while I run. Read my devotional and 1 chapter of my book. Make the boys breakfast, prep Liam’s lunch, put dishes away, clean dishes, read the boys’ morning devotional. Take Liam to school while I finish a podcast. Come home to Micah and open my computer. Run an errand. Grab lunch, while checking my phone.
This is all by 11:45 AM! You can imagine the list for the rest of my day! I want to learn it all, be it all for my kids and my businesses, and make time for it all.
But I just can’t. I can go from one extreme to the next. My from doing it all to just snapping and giving it all up. Or in my case, being up until 12:30 am. When you don’t let your mind and spirit rest, your body will make you do it!
We were never meant to work or be busy 24/7. Think of decades ago when work stopped when the sun went down. Now we have lights, devices and so forth to keep us going. The hustle never stops unless we are intentional. Unless we set the pace. Not what the world says, but what Jesus said and does.
We focus a lot on the teachings of Jesus as Christians but what about the pace of Jesus.
“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” – Mark 1:35
“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” – Luke 5:16
“Jesus was inside the boat, sleeping with his head on a pillow.” – Mark 4:38
Jesus withdrew! He knew his work was so important that he got away. He retreated. He slept when chaos was around. He made time with the Father daily. His work was so important (as I’m sure yours is as well) but his rest was important too.
Friends, if you’re feeling anxious, overwhelm, or that you can’t keep up, it’s because you were never meant to. Psalms 127:2 says, “It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.”
Work and Rest go hand in hand. Rest from your phone. Rest from your to-do list. Rest from finishing another book. And these can all be important and good things! But we have to honor the rest that God so generously gives us. He knew the demands we would have so he provided a day of rest for us. He also provided himself.
You set the pace. Not the world. I want to encourage you to set the pace based on your convictions as a woman of God. Here’s some helpful steps to get you going:
-Turn off your phone or put it in another room from 5pm until the kids are in bed or for the day
-No phones allowed at the table
-Don’t check email unless you can sit and thoughtfully respond
-Leave sticky notes in the places you frequent in your house for random thoughts that come into your head so you don’t forget (this one is from a dear friend of mine)
-Sit alone in silence with the Lord
-Only listen to 1 podcast a day
-Pray for God to help you learn what rest looks like
-Tell your family how you are pursuing rest
-Set boundaries and keep them (ask others for help to hold you accountable)
-Create a weekly day of rest with your family – Set the table, have candles, ask questions at dinner, play a game, or watch a movie after.
I’m on this journey with you friends! I do not have it all figured out, but God is actively calling me to a season of intense rest. Of laying things down to be with the Father. I pray if you’re on this journey with me, you would be encouraged.
