There are times when we are simply called to rest.
On Sunday, after a church fellowship lunch, my family returned home. My hubby took our son out to practice his driving and I was running around doing some chores. I had a load of laundry to do. I had to make some more sugar water for our insatiable hummingbirds. I needed to iron.
My daughter was sitting on her bed playing on her phone. She’s been fighting some kind of allergy/cold deal for a couple of weeks. She hasn’t been sleeping well and she was exhausted. I told her she needed to take a nap.
She was kind of reluctant. I smiled to myself, thinking about how she didn’t want to nap as a three-year-old either. Mommy knew, however, that rested children are happier and much easier to get along with children than those who aren’t.
This mommy also knew that rested seventeen-year-olds are also much easier to get along with than those who don’t get enough sleep. Not to mention, they heal better too.
When she finally agreed to take a nap, I found myself tip-toeing around the house, struggling not to make any noise, a habit I picked up when she was still in the crib. She always had a difficult time falling asleep.
But, as I moved about my quiet house like a ninja, thinking about all of the things I needed to accomplish before Monday, I realized that I too, was completely exhausted. I had been cramming lots of to-do lists into my weekends and left very little down time for myself.
I had an internal debate. The house was quiet. I had some time to write without answering anyone’s questions or trying to block out the noise of the television. It was a very rare event these days. It was a gift. Right? Wasn’t it foolish not to take it?
But, I also felt another nudge, a stronger one, that reminded me that I too, needed rest to function well. I needed rest to communicate well. I also needed rest if I didn’t want to be a cranky member of my family. Didn’t they deserve the best of me?
Upon retrospect, it was so ironic that I could easily see how much my own child needed to rest, but I couldn’t see it in my own situation.
But, God knew. I pray daily that I can hear His voice and that He will guide my thoughts and steps and I know that the nudge for some rest came from Him.
I gave in and took a thirty minute nap. I woke refreshed and ready to write. I had a better attitude and the chores I needed to do, they got done anyway.
If I knew that my own child needed to rest, why wouldn’t my need to rest matter to my Heavenly Father? Am I not a child of His?
The answer is of course, yes. That’s the awesome God we worship.
He is with us in the everyday, in the seemingly mundane details in our lives. There are no cares or concerns of ours that are too big or too small for Him.
My tired seventeen-year-old reminded me. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you needed reminding too.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂