What I Forget About Rest
Lately, I have been thinking about rest. Not because I have mastered it. Quite the opposite. I have noticed that when I go too long without rest, I don't just become tired. I become smaller somehow. My patience shortens. My creativity fades. My perspective narrows. Things that would normally roll off my shoulders suddenly feel heavier than they are.
I wonder if many of us have forgotten what rest is actually for. Just a few months ago, we had a retreat with the theme of Sabbath, and for weeks leading up to that, we talked about, read about, and pondered the idea. And then, like most things, we resume life, and all that reflection is gone.
For most of my life, I have viewed rest as a reward. In fact, I have been known to promise myself a nap… days after X, Y, and Z are complete. Why? Rest should not be a reward! It should be as much a part of our daily life as drinking water, eating good food, and connecting with those we love.
Because in rest, God comes to us, speaks to us, reveals something to us, and gives us all that we need. We see this all throughout the Bible. From creation, through the Psalms, the story of Elijah, and the times Jesus takes a break from his friends and followers… all of these remind us that God sees rest as a gift. We KNOW that God does not just command it, God gives it and desires it because God knows how we will benefit from it. What if we could see rest as a gift in the same way we see the mountains, oceans, hummingbirds, and our friends as gifts? Gifts that God has created, shared, and given to us!
And one thing I have learned is that rest is not specifically sleep. For me, rest has become going home for lunch and sitting on the porch just to be. Rest has become stopping in the middle of the workday to drink water, walk around, check in with my colleagues, those in my building, and those across the country. Rest has become listening to music while I just sit in my office, taking deep breaths for a few moments.
And yes, rest is a good nap!
And all these forms of rest give me what constantly going cannot:
- Perspective
- Patience
- Joy
- Curiosity
- Compassion
- Creativity
I am beginning to suspect that rest is less about recovering energy and more about recovering ourselves.
I am wondering what might happen if we stopped seeing rest as something we earn and started receiving it as a gift.
Perhaps we will discover something we never imagined!
Peace,
Pastor Carrie