How many of us can truthfully say we rest at some point every day? Sure we stop doing whatever we a physically doing but do we truly “Rest”… The definition of rest according to Merriam-Webster is the following:
As a noun:
1: REPOSE, SLEEP specifically: a bodily state characterized by minimal functional and metabolic activities
2a: freedom from activity or labor
b: a state of motionlessness or inactivity
c: the repose of death
: peace of mind or spirit
: something used for support
at rest
1: resting or reposing especially in sleep or death
2: QUIESCENT, MOTIONLESS
3: free of anxieties
As a verb:
1a: to get rest by lying down especially : SLEEP
b: to lie dead
2: to cease from action or motion: refrain from labor or exertion
3: to be free from anxiety or disturbance
4: to sit or lie fixed or supported a column rests on its pedestal
These are just a few definitions but they all refer to our physical and emotional rest. If we are truly honest with ourselves we do not “rest” like we should.
How many of us truly take the time each and every day to ‘rest’? I bet more than half of the population does not ‘rest’ each and every day. I know I don’t. Some days I struggle to make my mind stop thinking! It has always been difficult for me to take the time to just stop everything I am doing and just ‘rest’. I may stop moving around from task to task and sit down for a moment to catch my breath but I’m not really ‘resting’ I merely stop physically moving. My mind is constantly going from one thought to another…..it never really stops. Even though I am not physically moving I am thinking at speeds that would break the sound barrier! So for me to stop, and clear my mind of all thoughts and slowdown is very difficult for me to do. Lately I have been trying to do better at ‘resting’. I admit it is a struggle to say the least but I know that when I do finally slow down and really ‘rest’ it gives God the chance to get a word in so to speak.
Today’s society doesn’t help matters either.. Look around, everyone is always on the go, everyone is always on their phones, checking emails, messages, social media, whatever, the list goes on…. The television is on all day and night every day!!!! I can remember when the TV stations went off the air at midnight every night! If you suffered from insomnia then you had to read a book or find something to do! Children were sent to bed when the sun went down and they got up early every morning. I remember reading to my girls every night before they went to sleep. Sometimes it was more than one story but it was always at least one story before they went to sleep. Now days instead of a glass of coco or warm milk you just give your child a gummy or some other sleep medication and send them to bed. Then we will wonder why, when they are adults, they will need something to sleep….Progress, I guess, but it just doesn’t seem right to me….It seem like the world is going at such a fast pace that we are forgetting to ‘rest’ and slowdown like we should. We push our children to learn more, sooner, faster, quicker than ever before…..I remember when we had ‘nap’ time in kindergarten….and we stopped and rested for a few minutes…those days are gone now….now you just keep going, pushing, learning, moving, but not ‘resting’. It seems like we are pushing to learn as much as possible, in as little time as possible, as quickly as possible, but is it possible that we are pushing so hard and moving so fast that we miss the most important part of living?
I have learned the most important part of living is enjoying everything around us. Yes, keep learning, yes explore the world, yes take the time to see the beauty, take the time to smell the roses! Most of all take the time to ‘rest’ and let it all soak in!!! Take the time to breathe in the life God has given you! Take the time to appreciate all that he has done and is still doing in you, with you, for you, and through you! In order to appreciate this life you must take the time to ‘rest’ and enjoy it.
I admit it, I am still racing along life, but I have learned to slow down to a slower pace and take the time to ‘rest’ and take it all in…..Hopefully, everyone else will learn to ‘rest’ before they are laid to ‘rest’. With that thought I will say so long for now. Enjoy your day and remember to ‘rest’. God bless each and every one of you.
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