Rest

I didn't have to work yesterday.

It was awesome (shoutout to George Washington for being born and for the US government for making his birthday a national holiday).

I posted on my Instagram last night about my day. Want to know what I did all day?

Nothing. I was awake for 14 hours and was only out of my bed for 4. I was living my best life. I read. I watched Netflix (currently binge-watching Pretty Little Liars... I'm late to that game, I know). I napped. I ate chicken nuggets for lunch in my bed. I didn't shower or do my hair. Seriously, you guys, it was the best; and I now know that if I worked from home full-time I would get absolutely nothing accomplished ever.

But as I shared about my day on my Instagram, someone private messaged me and said, "Shouldn't you have done something productive today? I'm sure there was something in your house that needed cleaned or some errand you could have done. Seems like a waist of a day to me."

That's the culture we live in-- everything is rushed; and, even on our days where we don't have to go to our 9-5 jobs, we still feel the need to accomplish something. I'm learning more and more how hazardous that is to our overall well-being.

Are there things I could have accomplished yesterday? Absolutely. I desperately need to go grocery shopping. I could have spent an hour at the gym. I have a copious amount of laundry piled up in front of my washer.

But you know what I needed more than to do those things? I needed rest. I needed to sleep. I needed to slow down in all areas of my life. So, I did; and you know what-- it was freakin hard. (Also, I did pay my electric bill from my phone while in my bed, so there's something productive. So sip on that, haters). I saw the laundry, the mess of my apartment, the bajillion (not a real number) things I could have been doing instead. But then I remembered that there will be days where I'm highly caffeinated (probably today) and on a roll with productivity and I'll get those things done. Rest for today and give grace. No one is perfect except Jesus.

I have a ministry friend that I call from time to time who has been a great encouragement to me through different seasons in my life and ministry. When I lived outside of Indy, I called him while slightly stressed out. We talked about why I was stressed and then he reminded me of the importance of rest. Dallas Willard told John Ortberg to "ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life". This speaks volumes to me. Living a life without hurry is hard when culture tells you to always be accomplishing something because there are only 24 hours in a day.

Psalm 1 is one of my favorite passages. It talks about a man who walks in the counsel of the LORD. David states that when a person denies the ways of the wicked and delights in the law of the LORD, he is "like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season." (verse 3) Every time I read that passage two things come to my mind:

1. I want to be like that tree. I want to bear fruit in whatever season I'm in (probably a blog post coming on that later so stay tuned). I want to look back at different seasons and say, "That season was hard, but here's the fruit I see," or, "In that season of goodness, here's what else I learned."

2. Meditating on the law of the LORD is a daily thing. Meditating isn't something that is done quickly. It takes careful, allotted time. It's not something that can be rushed. But, more often than not, I try to rush it just like I try to rush everything else in my life... because I only have so much time... because there are other things to do... because I have x, y, and z to accomplish. But that's not what the Lord calls us to.

I notice when I don't take time to rest and meditate on the Word. I'm more irritable. I think lower of people. I think more lowly of myself. That makes it pretty obvious to me why Jesus told us to come to Him for rest. When we fill ourselves with Him, we are able to see things more as He does. Our culture will tell us that we're not being productive, but Psalm 1 tells us that that when we delight in the law of the LORD, we will gain more than an earthly accomplishment.

Take time. Rest. Meditate. Take delight in the law of the Lord. Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.