{This post is part of my 31 Day blog series Work Hard + Rest Well: Learning Obedience in the Rhythms of Work and Rest.}
Work and Rest
It’s a cycle.
In so many ways.
Each day you work and rest in a million ways, often moving fluidly between one and the other without noticing the transition.
Each week you have days of work and a day or two of rest to cycle through again and again.
Each season of life cycles through the busy, working times and the slow, restful times.
– Day 5
When you’re in a life season of work, rest can seem impossible, and the command to rest can sound overwhelming.
But remember your list?
If your list is full of big things like week long vacations and days where all you do is lay in bed and watch movies, then maybe you need to go back and reevaluate.
Because the amount of rest something gives isn’t measured by the amount of time we spend on it or the amount of work it takes to get there or the amount of money we spend to enjoy it. The amount of rest something gives is measured by the refreshment and energy it gives you as you.
And it’s all about perspective.
I’ve known seasons I thought were crazy that I look back on and realize how much time I had. And I’ve known seasons that I felt fully alive and joyful in even though I look back now and wonder how I made it through the busy alive.
It’s all about perspective.
Because any season, no matter how busy, has moments you can carve out for rest.
If you are in a season of work, you probably won’t have time for the vacations and the two day weekends and the fancy evenings out.
But you should have time for that 10 minutes of two-hand-holding your coffee and reveling in God’s goodness in the morning or putting on some music in your car and getting joyful or connecting with that encouraging friend over a few short text messages that refresh your heart.
If you are in a season of work, you can find the space to breathe. Those spaces will probably look very normal and maybe not even look very restful, but the spaces are there. And the key is perspective.
Will we choose a perspective of rest and trust?
Will we choose a perspective of thankfulness and joy?
Will we choose a perspective of enjoying and seeking refreshment in the little, ordinary moments of life?
If you’re in a season of busy, pause and reset your perspective:
Take 60 seconds to breathe deeply and look around you.
Notice the beauty surrounding you and take a moment to enjoy it.
Quiet and still your heart in that moment and allow thanks to overflow from your heart to God.
Allow a minute of still and thanks to fill your need for rest and get creative to seek out the lingering moments of rest that you do have. Because they are there…with the right perspective and some creativity.
Be blessed
<3
