An area that I would like to explore in this blog is self-care. There will be many topics to be discussed, but this post is about rest. This post is about how important it is to stop and recharge. We can continue to navigate life like the Energizer Bunny, but one day we will crash and burn from exhaustion. I want to encourage everyone to just take a moment every now and again to rest. I am reminded that even Jesus in his teaching wanted rest for Him and His disciples. Mark 6:31 NLT teaches, ...Jesus said, “Let's go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest a while.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn't even have time to eat. Rest can be the area where you begin a mindset of healthy living. In an article by Dr. Jonathan Ramachenderan, entitled “Rest-The Foundation of Intentional Care,” he states that a busy life is not a productive life and represents a person who is reacting to the world rather than thoughtfully responding. He goes on to say that a busy life can be distracting to the mind, detrimental to our body and eternally destructive to our soul.
I would like to challenge you to examine your life and see if you are busy just to be busy or are you fulfilling productivity with your task. Sometimes, a full calendar will make us forget about what's important. Rest then becomes integral to healthy bodies and minds. What do you do to truly rest? Are you turning off your mind to rejuvenate? Rest doesn't necessarily mean sleep. Although, as adults we should get the prescribed amount of sleep each night. Rest can be quiet moments of meditation, quiet moments of not thinking at all, times where you unplug and possibly just sit and stare out of a window. You can listen to music to unwind or simply read a book, perhaps study scriptures. I challenge each of you to take a self-examination of when you rest, how do you rest and how you can provide more moments to increase rest in your busy life. Make rest a routine in your self-care regimen.
Here’s a link to a rest planner and the creator of the planner. Let’s be intentional…
https://mysoulbalm.blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Rest-Day-Planner.pdf
Love,
E Y
1 comment
I have been suffering from Severe Chronic Insomnia (from abuse) since I was 5 years old, so between that, plus being in a room with not just 1, not 2, but 3 ppl who all loudly snore, not to mention all the usual noises of ppl yelling, screaming, singing, arguing, employees’ phones, etc., I can’t get any sleep at night. Even 20mg of prescribed Melatonin doesn’t help usually, so I’m irritable at times due to sleep deprivation and fatigue.