Invitation to Rest

It happens to David and me every year about this time. We push and push to make it through the convention season, and then there’s inevitably a crash. Our minds and our bodies tell us it’s time to slow down and rest a bit, and that’s exactly what we’ve been doing for the past month.

I wish I had listened to my crashes earlier in my life! Periods of stress, intense activity, and busy seasons aren’t new for us. Historically, though, we just pushed through them, piling on more stress, intense activity, and busyness on with no regard for how it was affecting us. Can you relate?

There are long stretches of time over the past 15 years or so when my memories are really spotty because I was in such a state of depletion and fatigue.

Now that I’m so much “older and wiser,” 😉I’ve learned the importance of listening to the cues God gives me to show me that it’s time for a break, and I hope I’m better at taking them than I was when I was younger.

Have you felt that way lately? Has your life been chaotic, stressful, and busy? Are you noticing spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional residue due to the way you’ve been pushing yourself?

If so, I encourage you to take a break.

Enjoy your family. Play outside. Put the books away for a bit even if you school year round and just read together for fun. Chat about the things that interest you. Explore. Spend extended time in God’s Word.

You will never regret seizing those moments, and you may even find them to be “just what the doctor ordered” to get rid of a myriad of random symptoms you can’t quite explain.

You also may find that when you come back after a season of rest that you’re way more mentally focused, energetic, and productive than before you stepped away. I know I always do!