Hey Beautiful People,
It’s your girl again, how are you doing! I hope you had a relaxed weekend. I am so excited to be writing this blog post because of how I am currently feeling right now, I can literally hear my body say ‘’Nike you need a holiday, it’s time to rest. Thinking back to what happened during the pandemic and still happening even though the news seems quiet than what it used to be, with all we have experienced over the past year it is evident that we need some time for real relaxation.
Although for some people, the pandemic meant that they did not have to commute to the office daily, while others did not have to work and still received their paycheques. it does seem fair to say that those people should have had enough time to rest, but I have come to realize that rest goes beyond having such privileges. You just never know what people really went through individual regardless of what privilege we think they had. For me, although I did not have to commute to work, I found myself working long hours in a day which equates to longer laptop screen time. I am sure several people can relate to this experience. My husband still reminds me of my late bedtimes.
Regardless of what your pandemic experience was, we all had a share of something it either impacted our physical, emotional, or mental state. The effect of this pandemic has now changed the way we do life today, and It’s amazing to see on the outside how so many people have come back strong and picked up their daily routines like normal, but we cannot see what anyone is dealing with internally. Most people are trying to work so hard to regain lost time by pushing themself excessively to achieve their goals and this is great news. However, I have come to realize that to keep pushing ourselves we need renewed strength, and more often we get renewed in a place of rest, relaxation, reflection and quiet. Personally, I used to feel guilty when I was resting, it felt like I was wasting time. I am learning from this scripture in Genesis 2:2 that says ‘’On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. This is such a profound word that indicates that after work, God wants us to rest.
Another scripture that emphasises the importance of rest and renewed strength is Isaiah 40:31 that says ‘’But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk, and not faint. I researched alternative dictionary words for rest and found these relax, slow down, recover strength, pause, time off, and ease. Resting gives you time to wait, reflect, get inspired, get up and go again. For me, I can tell I do need rest time with my family and a quiet place to just reflect on God’s word to renew my strength. Right now, I feel like a three-week holiday, but the question is how will the bills get paid haha. Well, if you don’t have the opportunity for such a long break then we need to cultivate the habit of resting even at short weekends or annual holidays that we get given. If you are like me who thinks even when she’s asleep, then we need to be very intentional about what strategies we put in place to achieve rest. Intentional rest is an area that I will be exploring because I can tell that rest is a secret to achieving more. Also, we should not feel guilty about resting, it is a time that leads to rejuvenation of the body and mind.
I hope this little tip will encourage you to book some rest time or holiday because with all that you have been through you deserve some quality time for rest. Resting is good and finding time to rest equals productivity. When resting and you feel guilty, please remember this scripture Ecclesiastes 9:11 that says ‘’I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skilful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.
Rest, it’s well deserved.
Xoxo,
BBB empower.