Do you ever just feel tired? Like wanna run away and hide from everything tired. I do… often. There is a lot of talk lately about self care. About rest and rejuvenation. About “Me time”. And I love it. Some people naturally are more extroverted, meaning being around people fills them up. Some are more introverted, meaning while we may love to be around people, it drains our energy quickly. Then there are those people who just tend to have a higher capacity than others. They can do all the things, and still want to do more.
I have never really seen myself as someone with a high capacity, unless I have no other choice. So many times, I long to get away to be in the quiet, to “rest”. To rejuvenate myself. But what is rest really?
Lately I have been challenged with the idea of rest and “me time”. It’s something I often long for. Something I put before other things. The idea of having time for myself, steals my joy in what is happening right in front of me.
Yes, you need time to rest. Everyone needs to get away and clear their head. To connect to the source of life and strength. But often when I say I want rest, I really just want to disconnect. To veg out. To binge watch tv, mindlessly surf social media, and basically just avoid my real life.
This is not rest. This type of “Me time” is selfish and doesn’t deliver the rejuvenation it promises. It is my way of avoiding so many things that I am called to. Chores, responsibilities, service, and relationships.
You don’t need to do all the things. You don’t need to say yes to everything. It is ok to need time to do something restful. To do something you enjoy just for the heck of it.
But be careful. Sometimes in our desire to step away, we miss out on so much. On opportunities to serve and to relate to others. We tune out the very things that give rest to our soul. We miss out on the experiences God has for us. The moments of pouring out ourselves for someone else. The things that make us feel more alive than any Netflix show ever could.
So let’s not be afraid of being tired. Tired means you are living well. Tired means you will sleep and wake up ready to engage again in another day. We were made to pour ourselves out for others, and then run back to the rest and peace of God when we were spent. We were made for good works prepared for us ahead of time, to fellowship with God as He sustains and directs us through them, and to celebrate with rest and joy when they are accomplished.
God promises rest, but He doesn’t always promise us a way out of the chaos. Sometimes He wants to be our rest in the chaos. He wants to teach us that He can sustain us in the busyness. And He can speak to us in the quiet and mundane.
So when we say we need to get away, when we crave a break… let’s intentionally turn from the mindless distractions we often run to. Let’s ask how God wants us to rest.
Maybe it’s in a walk. Or a cup of coffee with a friend. Or a book. Maybe it’s creating something from nothing. Drawing or writing or playing music. Rest can be way more active than you think. Rest is intentional. It is plugging into the source of all rest and strength.
So let’s rest well. Engage in the life that God has for you.