Give it a rest

We’ve all had it… the post vacation blues that hit us the Monday morning after our return. I had to give my self a major pep rally to get out of bed yesterday.  This past weekend, I came home from a 5 day beach vacation in Litchfield.  My boyfriend & his sweet family let me come along with them on their annual Litchfield beach week (appropriately hash tagged #brinsonbeachweek on all IG pics).  It was full of sun soaking, naps in hammocks, ice cream, day-dates with my man, ocean kayaking, & seashell collecting.  Amidst all of that, I was reminded that when all agendas, “to-do” lists, alarms telling me when to do something & pressure to cram 1500 things into one day are removed, there is sand to stick your toes in & rest to be had!

Rest is something that is hard for me to naturally come by.  I have to be intentional about it.  I’m an achiever.  I get stuff done.  I pride myself on cramming more into a day than most people can fit into a week.  Zach jokingly says, I only waist time if I’ve intentionally planned to waste time.  In my early 20s, I thought this was a fantastic approach to life.  After all, being a young single woman trying to make it in the world is demanding!  The more you can do, the further you’ll get, right?  Nope!  While there is some truth to that thought, it will kill you if you live by it.  I learned that the hard way.

Father continues to teach me that rest is the environment in which He does everything.  “Lovers get a lot more done than workers”.  When we learn to live in a state of rest with him, we’ll find that we get a lot more done on accident through loving Him than we ever could with a “do-er” mentality.  You see, He’s not concerned with what we can “do”, nor do we have to prove ourselves to Him.  He’s concerned with us realizing who we are & how we love & release His kingdom on earth in our everyday lives.  It sounds simple, but it’s taken me a while to let that sink in. 

Make time for your rest.  Value & prioritize it.  It is vital to maintaining your peace & staying in sync with Father’s rhythm.  He waits for you in rest.  Take it from a girl who’s learned the hard way:  it’s so much better to rest with Father, even if it means not getting to some things on your list.  You might even find that you didn’t really need to have them on there in the first place J  Father is excellent at trading burdens for rest.  “Come to me all you who are weary & burdened & I will give you rest.”  Matt 11:28  Take a risk, leave that last thing on your list undone & give it a rest.