The importance of rest

Balance seems to be a big thing with me lately, balancing fun and work especially. Many things contribute to me being task oriented, but I have a really hard time making time to rest. I get bored or restless when I try to take breaks. Usually I leave breaks more stressed than refreshed because my mind wanders towards my infinite “to-do” list instead of just shutting off. When a first-year girl on my team asked me about when I have Sabbaths, the Holy Spirit really convicted me. Also, when talking with Alex later about my work ethic/habits I felt the prodding of God, again, telling me to make time to consistently rest.

In fact this week God forced me to rest and I almost despised the blessing. Before work on Monday I felt nauseous, but left two hours early after getting sick in the kitchen; I ended up missing two days of school recovering from the night of pain and illness that followed. I’ve been experiencing conflicting feelings about my job at Chick-fil-A, because I know I need money, but at the same time I have been walking in disobedience to Him by neglecting my physical health and relationships. Because of that negligence and other reasons, I actually turned in my two-week notice the previous week. My gracious boss sent me the nicest e-mail saying I didn’t have to work my two weeks if I didn’t want to, because he had understanding about my schedule. However, I thought I should just as a courtesy to him. God didn’t seem to agree on Monday.

Tuesday and Wednesday God MADE me lie down in “green pastures,” (Psalm 23:2) and instead of praising Him for the period of rest and healing as a break, I thought I was wasting valuable school time. Even though I know I should keep the Sabbath holy and worship Him through all that I do, God also wants us to be intimate with Him and lean on Him. His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30). Instead of trying to find time to do everything myself and becoming obsessed with the works that won’t save me (but should only testify of my love and desire for obedience), God wants me to prioritize my time to make sure I do spend quality time with Him. From now on I want to manage my time better to allow for rest time and time with God.