Written Tues, Oct 4
Each week, I have committed to take one day off to rest. Sometimes I really look forward to this day because I just need the physical/emotional/mental rest, and sometimes I just jump into it because I just have to let go of my anxiety around getting things done. I rest because the Lord commands it of me, but I also do it because the Lord says it’s for my good. I learned this past week from a colleague that after working out for 6 days, the resting period is one of the most important times for your muscles to grow. Likewise, I hope that I will grow, because it’s good for me to trust God with my work and it’s also good for me to enjoy God. It’s also good for me to not treat myself like a robot, because I am a humanoid.
I’m not great at resting, and I’m still finding out what is restorative to me. (Lying on the couch all day is only great on the days when I am too fatigued to do anything, not every week.) One of my spiritual mentors prods me each month to “have fun with Jesus” to combat the incorrect theology and paradigm that I have of God as a demanding worky Kingdom taskmaster. Fun? What!! Shift that theology.
I think I would like to reflect “aloud” on this blog a little more about what it means to rest. Hopefully something insightful will come out of this series. I’d also like to inductively look for patterns of what I would consider to be restful for myself. (Note: can cleaning be considered a restful activity?)
What do you do to rest? What activities do you find to be restorative?
Here’s what I did today:
- Slept in as much as I could until 930
- Rearranged some things in my room and filed old CT articles
- The rest of the morning is a bit of a blur. I decided to go with the “lie on the couch” route for a few hours watching a few episodes of Community and Mad Men, something I had put on hold with the craziness of the fall season.
- Prodded after a convo with JH and hunger pangs to actually get up and enjoy the sunny day. Installed a bike rack on my trunk (yay) and drove to my newest go-to cafe for coffee and a crepe.
- Read a chunk of “The Namesake” by Jhumpa Lahiri and decided to stop after reaching a good turning point in the book.
- Drove to Lakeview Cemetery to ride my bike. Needed some pause for reflection, and some time to read from the Scriptures and meditate. It was a beautiful day!! Quickly left though, as to avoid being locked in at 5:30pm!
Lakeview Cemetery by Julia Kuo
- Ran errands to knock things off my “to buy” list and to have some healthy groceries to eat for the next 2 weeks. Cleaned the apartment and washed the dishes.
- The rest is a blur thanks to internet web surfing for recipes, paying the bills, doing my budget for Oct, sociology blogs, buzz & tumblr and another episode of Mad Men (sigh)
