Rest & Work

Do you ever have days that simply fly by with little or no rest? Maybe it’s not just days – maybe it stretches into the whole week.

This week has been non-stop from start to finish. We started our new homeschool year on Monday. I have had to try to learn how to balance school and work for the first time. We have had obligations and activities just about every night this week, and I’ve had more work meetings than usual. It’s been a good week. A very good week. But a full one as well.

There has been almost no down time.

I saw a quote yesterday. I don’t remember where I saw the quote, who it was from, or what the exact wording was. But, the idea was something along the lines of this: rest gives birth to our creativity. Without rest, we have no opportunity to be creative.

Oh how true! My heart and mind have been so task driven this week that I have not even been able to think creatively! No blog posts have roamed around in my head. Even attending Bernina Club yesterday with all of the great Christmas ideas and patterns did not stir me out of my “check the box of this activity” mentality like it usually does. I came home with a bag of practicals – things I went in knowing I was going to need. I snapped a few pictures of project ideas, knowing I could come back to those ideas later when I was in a more creative mode. Then I just walked away.

No rest stifles creativity.

I’m realizing two things about this.

First, I must be intentional about working rest into each and every week. If possible, I need a little of it each day as well! But, definitely each week. This is not a new concept. It’s been around since the creation of the universe. God made us all that way. Will I obey Him and ensure that rest in Him happens?

Secondly, however, I need to realize that it’s not all about rest. Sometimes the best way to train the mind to focus its creativity in the right direction is to be busy with a good work. Be focused. Not allow our creativity to take us directions we do not need to go.

Oh how careful we must be with this, however! Careful to surrender all our plans to the Lord and accomplish what He lays before us instead of what we think we must do. Careful to not block out the voice of the Lord in our busyness, but to hear Him each step of the way. Careful to ensure that our busyness does not shut out relationships. But when we are careful and obedient in our busyness, we will find that God’s will is accomplished through us and our times of rest in Him are even more beautiful than ever!

This has been a full, but good, week. Today I still have far to go before I rest tonight, side by side with my wonderful husband. Work will be demanded tomorrow as we prepare for a new week. But, this week has been bathed in prayer. Every moment of anxiety has been lifted up to the Savior. Every task that remains before me has been surrendered to His ultimate authority. And in brief moments of rest this morning, He has directed my thoughts to creativity that honors Himself.

Yes, rest breeds creativity. Obedient work breeds productivity. And submission to Him grants the perfect balance of the two. That, my friends, is where I desire to live.