Rest to Heal.

I am resting today.

I’m writing today’s #MondayMessage on Thursday, during our county’s snow day. It’s been snowing since about 3am and our county’s school system decided last night (Wednesday night) that school’s would be closed for the weather. I’m proud of them, to be honest, and I welcome the partial day of rest. I have a graduate class tonight, but right now, I am doing loads of nothingness. If I’m not mistaken, we have been talking about healing for all of 2021 and this week is no different. We are talking about healing, but from the perspective of rest.

Resting is healing.

I think that because we live in such a go, go, go world, we forget the need to slow down and observe a true moment of rest. I can’t speak for other countries, but I can say that here in America, we are often guilted into thinking that rest is something that we should not have. We see the “hustle” of others and it makes us feel that we are not doing enough and we should “grind” more. If someone our age has a successful business while we are still punching the 9 to 5 clock, we feel pressured to push past our exhaustion to get to the next level. Always going, never stopping; “I can sleep when I’m dead.” Not me. Not anymore. I rest.

Resting is my superpower.

Or maybe it unleashes my superpower, I don’t know, but it is super important to me. Up until my breakdown in 2016, I believed in packing my schedule for the sake of packing it and living like everyone around me. When stress led to a massive bout of depression and mindful neglect, I soon learned that I did not need (nor could I sustain) the jam packed schedule that I had. Five years later, I see rest for what it really is- a time to rejuvenate and prepare for God’s next.

R.E.S.T. to heal.

Almost two years ago I wrote a piece entitled, “R.E.S.T.” and I revisited it in my planning for today’s message. I absolutely love how God pulls back up lessons from the past to teach me more things in my present, for my future. It is ok to breathe. It is perfectly fine to take a moment for yourself and to pause from the world around you. In fact, do me favor- step away from the screen and breathe right now. Pause. Reflect. Then when you are rested and ready to head back to whatever your Monday consists of, hold onto this one peace- rest today helps to prepare you for God’s tomorrow.

Beloved, rest to heal.
Be blessed.