Have you ever experienced a period of time where life slows down, not because you chose it, but because of circumstances out of your control? Most of us feel comfortable with a busier pace of life. In fact, it’s pretty typical for us to reply, “Busy!” when folks ask us, “How are you?” We can sometimes pretend that it stinks to be busy, but the reality is, most of us enjoy going from one thing to the next… to the next.

So, when life throws us a bit of a curveball, and we are somewhat forced into an extended Sabbath, our brains can start to play funny tricks on all of us, for sure. If you are an avid workaholic, you might hear whispers of, “Everyone is going to move on without you,” and “You must not be that great at what you do anyways, since everything seems to be running just fine without your two cents.”

If you are like me, and much of your fast pace is due to an extreme passion for MOVEMENT (exercise, running my kids from here to there, cleaning my house obsessively, etc.), then when your BODY actually has to slow down (doctor’s orders), those whispers in your head get pretty dang loud.

You are going to totally lose all of your motivation for life and health and cleanliness.

Everyone else in the entire world is moving faster and better and stronger than you right now.

See ya later, skinny jeans and yoga pants (in public).

I wish I could tell you that I am able to take every thought captive during these periods of “forced” rest, but that is just not true. I struggle with rest; it’s just not natural for me. BUT, in my most recent season of recovering from a surgery, I have so enjoyed some extra hours of sleep, a longer lingering with my Bible and coffee before work, and some extra brain space to fill that is usually taken by tomorrow’s workout and house cleaning plan.

So, can I encourage you to lean into some rest for your weary souls and bodies, friends? I am not saying this will be easy; in fact, it may not even be fun for the first few days, but trust me. It’s likely you won’t miss out on much-- and the peace and joy you will gain in return will totally be worth it.

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”-- Jesus (Matthew 11:28)

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