“We were made for love. We were made for labor. And we were made for leisure.”

Leisure? What?!? Did I hear that correctly?

That was my initial reaction when I heard those words on a Father Mike podcast a couple months ago.

Don’t get me wrong. I know rest is important for my mental sanity, so I don’t get too stressed out or overwork myself. I get it. But I’m also that girl who always has to be doing something productive, even in my down time. I don’t like to rest for too long because then I feel like I’m wasting time when I could be doing something productive. I laugh because I’m probably the poster child of the German-American mentality.

I’m always baffled by people and cultures that find time to rest often. Not going to lie, I used to think those people who took siestas in the afternoon or took long lunch breaks were kind of lazy. Recently though, I’ve realized that maybe they know more about a balanced life than I give them credit for. Because how can we truly serve God and others with our whole hearts and minds if we don’t take time to care for ourselves?

It’s no surprise that the areas of the world that have the highest life expectancy rest often. However, I would argue that not only is rest important for our physical health, but for our spiritual lives as well. That’s why I’d like to take a moment to reflect on how we can schedule leisure time into our busy days.

A Deserted Place

I think it’s safe to say that Americans are obsessed with working hard, so much so that we’ve almost forgotten how to rest. But even Christ took time for Himself. 

After He was traveling for a while, performing many miracles, He and His disciples were exhausted. He said to them:

“‘Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.’ People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in a boat by themselves to a deserted place.” (Mark 6:31-32)

Even back when God created the world, He made a day SPECIFICALLY for rest.

“On the seventh day God completed the work He had been doing; he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation.” (Genesis 2: 2-3)

The whole idea of rest also coincides with the idea of silence. Creativity and ideas stem from boredom, and boredom stems from rest. Similarly, hearing God’s voice in our lives comes from quieting our hearts, which comes from silence. And silence stems from creating time to REST IN GOD’S PRESENCE.

Rest, What’s That?

So what convinced us that more work and busyness is always better?

Even though we may be doing GOOD things with our lives, it doesn’t mean we should be doing them ALL the time. Our intentions of doing the Lord’s work are good. However, just like with anything else, we can do too much to the point where we are exhausted and not taking care of ourselves. I think that’s what we always forget.

To be able to serve God and others with our whole hearts and minds, we must first take care of ourselves. And sometimes that means hitting the pause button.

[ctt template=”5″ link=”ud9Sc” via=”yes” ]To be able to serve God and others with our whole hearts and minds, we must first take care of ourselves. And sometimes that means hitting the pause button.[/ctt]

We may love our jobs and busy schedules, which is great! However, it becomes a problem when we never stop, refusing to do something we love other than our job.

And it’s different for everyone. Rest and leisure for me may look very different than a working mom of three. But a question all of us can answer is: What are some ways each of us can weave rest into our weeks, or even days, to bask in the Lord’s presence?

Weekly Rest

The first way is to actually “Keep holy the Sabbath Day.” The third commandment doesn’t just instruct us to worship God in Mass on Sundays, but also to keep the day holy by resting. Of course it doesn’t mean we can’t work on Sundays at all. It simply means we should avoid any unnecessary labor.

Basically, God set this one day a week apart for us to 1) worship Him and 2) rest. We need to make time for both. Even if you can’t give up your whole Sunday, you can find a way to give up part of it.

Maybe your way of resting is to go to Mass with your family and then out to breakfast. Perhaps you like going to the beach on Sunday afternoons or reading a good book. Growing up in my family, Sundays after church were an opportunity to play sports outside. For me now, I try not to play tennis or work on this blog on Sundays. That’s my way of resting.

And maybe you have to schedule it in! We all plan when we are going to Mass, so why don’t we schedule that leisure time into our Sundays as well?! Whether it’s an hour or two or whatever it may be, it will help us relax in the Lord’s presence and start the week refreshed!

Daily Habits

If you want to take it a step further, I think it’s a great idea to develop daily habits of leisure as well. (I’m not talking about binging Netflix for three hours after work/school).

Below are a few of my favorite daily tips (that I need to listen to more!) on how to schedule rest into our daily routine for a healthy mind, body, and soul.

1. Go to bed on time: Set a bedtime and keep it. Aim to get at least 7 or 8 hours of sleep a night and be disciplined.
2. Have a book: Reading is a great way to relax. I find I really enjoy going to my room after dinner and snuggling up with a good book for thirty minutes or so before bedtime. I realize this takes away from TV or Netflix time for some people, but is that the worst thing in the world?
3. No technology at meals: This might sound strange, but your cell phone is a constant stimulus. We may think we are relaxing by scrolling through social media as we eat lunch, but when’s the last time you felt more relaxed after going on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook? Try to use meals as a time to connect with someone else, sit with your thoughts, or even read that book we were just talking about.
4. More silence: Probably the most important of these habits is to find times to sit in silence throughout the day.  Bask in the Lord’s presence. Whether it’s during meals, on a car ride to work, or for ten minutes before bed, make some quiet time with the Lord.  You won’t regret it.

Bottom Line

Bottom Line: Rest is important, so learn to make time for it. Schedule it into your Sunday, and develop daily habits to cultivate leisure.

We tell children to rest all the time, but when it’s ourselves, we neglect this need.

So, rest child, and just relax in His Presence.

From the depths of my soul,

Josie

RELATED RESOURCES FOR FURTHER READING:

• The Secret of Silence- Beautiful Depths
• Keeping Holy the Sabbath Day- Bulldog Catholic
• We Were Made for Rest- Intentional By Grace
• What’s Your Bedtime Video- Father Mike Schmitz
• How to Live to Be 100+- Dan Buettner TED talk
• Blessed is She- Come Away and Rest Awhile