The Art of Rest
"Part of the reward of work is stopping long enough to see what's been accomplished."~Lance Witt
I love this quote from Lance Witt, in his book Replenish:Leading From A Healthy Soul. This book has been a great reminder for me to stop, rest and rejoice in all that God has done. I am very much a 'it all has to be done RIGHT NOW!' kind of person and as such, taking time to stop and smell the roses is not a natural response.
It's my personality; I like to have things done in a timely manner and if I have a deadline coming up, I'll stay up late to get the newsletter done or the thank you notes written..... and many times, this is detrimental to my family and myself. I end up grouchy, snapping at my husband and kids, flying off the handle at the slightest thing because I have not taken the time to give myself the rest that I need.
We are in the midst of planning our annual ministry trip to visit friends, family, supporters and churches, which means there are lots of letter to write, phone calls to make, and e-mails to send. Lots of logistics to figure out like who are we going to see, where are we going to stay during our travels, what do we need to pack, do we try to homeschool while we're on the road for 3 weeks (yes, my mind went there for a split second).......
But as Lance said, I need to stop long enough to see what has already been accomplished. Yes, there is still work to be done but I need to sit back and thank the Lord for what has already been done and enjoy that moment. I miss so many rewarding times because I am plowing on to the next event.
When our son learned to read last year in school, I should have stopped and had a HUGE PARTY for him, because there was a lot of hard work and struggle that went into meeting this milestone (both for him and for me)...... but I didn't..... I was too focused on pushing forward and sticking to the schedule.
I'm asking the Lord today to help me take times to pause and reflect; to not be so caught up in doing the next thing that I miss an opportunity to celebrate both the little things and the big things. I want to have a party when my kids learn to read, I want to enjoy playing with them, I want to be enthusiastic as I teach them and train them.....because the work will be there tomorrow but tomorrow, my kids will be 1 day older.....they might not do tomorrow what they do today..... I want to enjoy times of conversation with my husband as we walk along the greenbelt and as we go on family bike rides to the park. And most of all, I want to rest in the Lord's presence and let Him guide my life.
I love this quote from Lance Witt, in his book Replenish:Leading From A Healthy Soul. This book has been a great reminder for me to stop, rest and rejoice in all that God has done. I am very much a 'it all has to be done RIGHT NOW!' kind of person and as such, taking time to stop and smell the roses is not a natural response.
It's my personality; I like to have things done in a timely manner and if I have a deadline coming up, I'll stay up late to get the newsletter done or the thank you notes written..... and many times, this is detrimental to my family and myself. I end up grouchy, snapping at my husband and kids, flying off the handle at the slightest thing because I have not taken the time to give myself the rest that I need.
We are in the midst of planning our annual ministry trip to visit friends, family, supporters and churches, which means there are lots of letter to write, phone calls to make, and e-mails to send. Lots of logistics to figure out like who are we going to see, where are we going to stay during our travels, what do we need to pack, do we try to homeschool while we're on the road for 3 weeks (yes, my mind went there for a split second).......
But as Lance said, I need to stop long enough to see what has already been accomplished. Yes, there is still work to be done but I need to sit back and thank the Lord for what has already been done and enjoy that moment. I miss so many rewarding times because I am plowing on to the next event.
When our son learned to read last year in school, I should have stopped and had a HUGE PARTY for him, because there was a lot of hard work and struggle that went into meeting this milestone (both for him and for me)...... but I didn't..... I was too focused on pushing forward and sticking to the schedule.
I'm asking the Lord today to help me take times to pause and reflect; to not be so caught up in doing the next thing that I miss an opportunity to celebrate both the little things and the big things. I want to have a party when my kids learn to read, I want to enjoy playing with them, I want to be enthusiastic as I teach them and train them.....because the work will be there tomorrow but tomorrow, my kids will be 1 day older.....they might not do tomorrow what they do today..... I want to enjoy times of conversation with my husband as we walk along the greenbelt and as we go on family bike rides to the park. And most of all, I want to rest in the Lord's presence and let Him guide my life.
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