resting in Jesus

"I've been in a bit of a funk," I explained to my brother and sister. "I just can't seem to shake it."

I went on to tell them how I felt so overwhelmed emotionally and mentally and couldn't figure out why I felt this way. Yes, I was working a lot, but that was normal. Yes, I was a little stressed over friends, but well, I was bearing their burdens. Yes, I was reading my Bible and praying. So what was I doing wrong?

Turns out, I was addicted to seeing the number of my hours go up. I was taking all the weight of being burdened for others on myself and not giving it to the Lord. I was so busy, so caught up in trying to serve God and help others that I wasn't making a lot of time for myself.

Really?

It seems weird to say, but yes. That was it. I wasn't taking time to rest.

And I think that something the Lord has been trying to teach me to do is rest. I say that because after that late night couch talk, I got sick and took a full day off of work. That was the first day besides a Sunday in the longest time I didn't have any work to go to, and it was unbelievably peaceful. Then, I headed away to Tennessee and spent time in God's creation marveling at His handiwork (holy moly, He is a creative genius!) and then sprained my ankle in the most ungraceful way possible.

I tripped off a rock.

It's almost like the Lord is saying to me, "Slow down! And to really make sure you do that, you are going to sprain your ankle and you will have to be slower.

"Appreciate this season. Come visit with Me. Take time to be holy and pray before Me." So I will say, "Yes, Lord. I will rest. I will take time to spend with You, and make that a priority."

You see, one of the things my brother advised me to do is spend more time in the presence of the Lord, and it has been a gamechanger. Yes, it means getting up earlier but I think it truly reflects what Emma Mae Jenkins says: "Time with Jesus is the best because it overflows into time with everyone else in the day." I need to hear what the Lord wants to teach me before I go out and try to handle everything myself. Instead, I can walk out to my work with the Lord's hand consciously guiding my steps.

Another important thing I've learned to LOVE are rest days. Rest days are the days where I only work one shift or just don't have any work at all. They are the BEST! I may not get them often, but I'm learning to appreciate them with alllllll my heart.

Rest days are for pizza dates with my mom, spending a little more time in the Word, praying till I feel like the burden has been lifted, cleaning off my computer, yoga, reading, and Marvista movies. They are so precious because they are time away from my work to just rest and refuel.

So the takeaway? If you're feeling just like I was: take time to rest before the Lord. Even if it's just for a few hours, make time with the Lord your priority! Some verses I've been loving to pray in the morning are Psalm 143:8-10: "Let the morning bring me Word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life. Rescue me from my enemies, Lord, for I hide myself in you.

HERE'S THE IMPORTANT VERSE:

"Teach me to do your will, for you are my God, may your good Spirit lead me on level ground."

My prayer is "teach me to do your will"-but how will you know God's will unless you seek it out in His word?

So seek His face, and rest. Lysa TerKeurst says it beautifully: "Jesus doesn’t participate in the rat race. He’s into the slower rhythms of life, like abiding, delighting, and dwelling—all words that require us to trust Him with our place and our pace. Words used to describe us being with Him.” (Uninvited)