Sometimes we get so busy being stressed by the craziness of our lives, that we don’t even notice when the times of rest come.
Sometimes we get so wrapped up in learning to be abide and thrive in our work that we feel guilty and don’t know what to do when the times of rest do come.
A few weeks ago summer hit and my tutoring schedule cleared out in the space of a week and life seemed to collectively slow down and I felt more stressed than ever. And worse…I felt guilty.
Guilty that I wasn’t working more, even though God was providing enough.
Guilty for the time and space to rest and breathe and have fun.
Guilty that life wasn’t full because full is holy, right?
And my husband laughed his gentlest laugh and pulled me in close and told me, “Don’t feel guilty.”
And I felt the whisper of truth deep in my soul…rest well.
So my heart went back and began to ponder again the truths God had impressed on my heart so strongly at the beginning of this year.
Work Hard + Rest Well
And my husband reminded me…“Refusing to work is lazy and refusing to rest is disobedient.”
But there was one more word that God kept whispering into my soul…rejoice.
Rejoice in this gift of rest.
Rejoice in this gift of time and space.
Rejoice in this gift of relaxation.
Rejoice!
Because rest is a command, but it’s also a gift. And we’re called to rejoice in God’s commands and give thanks for His gifts.
So the past few weeks, I’ve been resting and rejoicing.
And I’ve noticed that it’s easy to rejoice privately but hard to rejoice publicly. So I’ve been making a point to stop myself from spewing my default answer when I’m asked how life is going or how my week has been…
Because life is still busy, but there is a beautiful rest that has been pervading the busy and there have been unexpected pockets of still that God has given.
So if you walked up to me today and asked, “How has your summer been so far?”
I would probably start to shrug off your question with a, “Good but really busy.” But somewhere between “good” and “busy” I’d catch myself.
And then I’d slow down and look you in the eye and say…
“God is so good. The past few weeks have been the slowest and most restful weeks we’ve had in months. I’m soaking it up and enjoying this beautiful time of rest as much as I can because I know it will get busy again soon. So I’m just so thankful for this season of rest right now.”
Sister, how about you? How would you answer the question, “how has your summer been”? Are you taking time to enjoy the rest that God gives? Are you rejoicing in it? Are your words to others reflecting that rejoicing?
Be blessed
<3
