The simple little things in life can be easily overlooked when caught up in so much activity. Whether the activity serves a wonderful purpose or not, still I am learning the joy of rest and enjoyment of those small things. My husband and I have just returned from a month of traveling and visiting friends for vacation and I was able to revisit those things that bring delight to my heart. I have a love for writing, reading, knitting, running, and learning new things and these all need to be revisited in my life. Before we ventured off on our much needed vacation I had forgotten those little loves that give my mind rest and a break from the ongoing impact of full activity. My husband and I visited places where time to sit and have coffee or tea with friends was the activity of the entire city. Back in the States we always filled our schedules with work, commuting to and from work, cooking dinner and folding a little laundry before heading to bed just to do it all over again. Americans are well known for their hard work ethic where a true Sabbath continues to involve house work because the next day won’t give us time to catch up and catch our breathes. I still believe in hard work and accomplishing the impossible, but God is teaching me the value of and His command to rest. Rest is needed in all areas of our lives, for the physical, mental, spiritual, and the emotional parts. For each of us rest is different and some need more rest than others. My husband does not need the amount of rest that I need, at least physically. He can go much further than I can before he needs to sit still. I can push myself to his limit, but then I find myself exhausted, and then I rest physically and not mentally or spiritually. Vacation showed me that I had exhausted each area of my life and I had to slowly build up again. I came away from those beautiful places we saw with time to think about what I enjoyed doing that gave my mind rest from the work we do here in our city. I love the work we do, but being surrounded by co-workers who are here for a short time and are rightfully doing this work as a sprint race rather than a marathon like my husband and myself, I find myself running just as hard. It really frightens me when I forget the hobbies I enjoy doing because I had spent so much of my free time still working on language and meeting more and more friends with sharing His Gospel. I was reminded by my Creator that He created me weak, that my body was not created to work so hard that I neglect my family, my friends from all over, and especially time needed for Him. I need to learn to trust Him with my work and take time to give myself rest. Rest is a gift, and I am learning not to allow false feelings of guilt to rob me of my joy of resting in Him. God gives us sense enough to put up healthy boundaries in our lives to protect our family times and times for ourselves. He puts in each of us a need and desire to take care of ourselves in that way. Running towards burn out is a red flag telling us that we are not taking care of ourselves, and my life threw up that flag. In God’s faithfulness and love He showed me how I was running harder than I was created for and that He desires to lead me to Rest, and Rest in Him.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Rest in Him
The simple little things in life can be easily overlooked when caught up in so much activity. Whether the activity serves a wonderful purpose or not, still I am learning the joy of rest and enjoyment of those small things. My husband and I have just returned from a month of traveling and visiting friends for vacation and I was able to revisit those things that bring delight to my heart. I have a love for writing, reading, knitting, running, and learning new things and these all need to be revisited in my life. Before we ventured off on our much needed vacation I had forgotten those little loves that give my mind rest and a break from the ongoing impact of full activity. My husband and I visited places where time to sit and have coffee or tea with friends was the activity of the entire city. Back in the States we always filled our schedules with work, commuting to and from work, cooking dinner and folding a little laundry before heading to bed just to do it all over again. Americans are well known for their hard work ethic where a true Sabbath continues to involve house work because the next day won’t give us time to catch up and catch our breathes. I still believe in hard work and accomplishing the impossible, but God is teaching me the value of and His command to rest. Rest is needed in all areas of our lives, for the physical, mental, spiritual, and the emotional parts. For each of us rest is different and some need more rest than others. My husband does not need the amount of rest that I need, at least physically. He can go much further than I can before he needs to sit still. I can push myself to his limit, but then I find myself exhausted, and then I rest physically and not mentally or spiritually. Vacation showed me that I had exhausted each area of my life and I had to slowly build up again. I came away from those beautiful places we saw with time to think about what I enjoyed doing that gave my mind rest from the work we do here in our city. I love the work we do, but being surrounded by co-workers who are here for a short time and are rightfully doing this work as a sprint race rather than a marathon like my husband and myself, I find myself running just as hard. It really frightens me when I forget the hobbies I enjoy doing because I had spent so much of my free time still working on language and meeting more and more friends with sharing His Gospel. I was reminded by my Creator that He created me weak, that my body was not created to work so hard that I neglect my family, my friends from all over, and especially time needed for Him. I need to learn to trust Him with my work and take time to give myself rest. Rest is a gift, and I am learning not to allow false feelings of guilt to rob me of my joy of resting in Him. God gives us sense enough to put up healthy boundaries in our lives to protect our family times and times for ourselves. He puts in each of us a need and desire to take care of ourselves in that way. Running towards burn out is a red flag telling us that we are not taking care of ourselves, and my life threw up that flag. In God’s faithfulness and love He showed me how I was running harder than I was created for and that He desires to lead me to Rest, and Rest in Him.
