The Importance of Rest

What springs to mind when you think of your perfect Summer holiday?  Do you think of blue skies, sandy    beaches and perfectly still seas?  How about reading books by the pool?  Lazy starts to your mornings?  Going for gentle strolls as the sun sets?  Perhaps it would be your kids happily playing with their friends and giving you some much needed peace, or maybe it’s just total isolation from civilization for you to       de-stress?

All of us will have slightly different ideas of their ideal summer - I’m the kind of person that can’t just sit on a beach or by the pool for a whole day, I need to be up doing something - whether it be exploring a new place and culture or going for a walk and experiencing views I have not seen before.

Everyone has a slightly different idea of their perfect Summer, but the reality is that most of the time it doesn’t quite work out the way we envisage - whether it be traffic jams, flight delays, bad weather, kids that fall out with their siblings or every five minutes tell you they are bored, the heat, the change of environment, the new culture, the costs - I can feel the stress levels rising even as I write this!!! 

To be honest, Erika and I have sometimes wondered why we even bother doing Summer breaks with our kids, because when you take away autistic children to a new environment, the change can bring all manner of problems, from the basics like sleeping, to complete sensory overload, or big noisy crowds and this could be significantly reduced if we just simply stayed at home.

But here’s the thing, we are not going on holiday because we think that everything is going to be perfect - that is unrealistic, just think back over your previous holidays - there are so many unknowns and things out of our control.  Rather we go on holiday in order to get away from the busyness of everyday life, to have a change of scenery, to focus on family or friends and to recharge our batteries.

We all live busy lives with work, family commitments, social gatherings and church - As important as these things are to help us live a fulfilled life, we must never underestimate the power and need for us to take time out to rest.

Working and earning our keep, providing and looking after our families is something God has ordained, but taking time to rest and recharge is of equal importance and something that God takes seriously, whether during your normal working week (which we are not always great at) or for an extended period. 

God himself took time to rest after creating the world. Genesis 2 v 2-3 says it like this “And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So, God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.”

Taking time away from the busyness of life is really important as it helps us to rest and if needs be, realign our focus and priorities.  When we think of rest we often only consider the physical (our bodies) - but there are actually three areas that make up our wellbeing - the physical, the mental and the spiritual.  All of these need to be regularly rested and replenished.  That’s why Jesus encourages us in Matthew 11 v 28-30 “Come to me, all you who are   weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Life can be busy and stressful, sapping all our capacity and resource, we therefore need to be intentional about stopping, turning off our phone, disconnecting from our emails and learning to be present in the moment.  

Taking a break though, is more than just a chance to visit somewhere new, to get some sun, even to spend time with our family but it’s the God given opportunity to lay our burdens down, to be refreshed in God’s presence, to be strengthened, to find peace, and to be restored. 

The prophet Elijah experienced the benefit of that in 1 Kings 19 after being on the verge of burnout.  This  Summer as you take those much needed breaks may you encounter restoration, physically, mentally and spiritually in readiness for the next chapter ahead.