Nurturing the Nurturer-Rest

I’m a driven, task-oriented person who thrives on success and affirmation.  I didn’t have these words to describe myself until I became a Christian and started taking college seriously.  Excellent (not just good) grades were my focus.  Call it a blessing or a curse, but I often received the grades I sought.  One day I was challenged by two students to practice the sabbath, a day of rest.  At that time, it meant a day not doing schoolwork.  Instead, it was a day to rest, worship, reflect, and nurture relationships. They explained the biblical principal for rest in the Old and New Testaments.  They challenged me that setting aside a day to rest was a demonstration of my faith in God, aside from being a healthy discipline.  Essentially, even when I am not working, He is.  This was very challenging because I relied on myself to perform well in my classes.  Not working every day on school meant relinquishing control over the input and output of my coursework. That meant risking not being “successful” for something better-perspective.

That was over 20 years ago.  Today my understanding and appreciation of the sabbath has grown, especially with four kids.  It’s a rhythm woven into my life that helps keep my Type A personality in check.  I need a weekly reminder to interrupt daily life to rest, play, and reflect.  I don’t do this perfectly and it’s not always on Sundays.  I can tell the weeks I don’t take a sabbath, I easily get overwhelmed, resentful, and anxious.  I still find myself tempted to run myself into the ground and take my family with me. It’s in those moments I’m reminded that my life needs a weekly pause.  I hope you’ll take these words as an encouragement to build in times to rest daily, weekly, and yearly.