And now we run! Those were the words that sealed my meditation time with the Divine. That morning marked a significant spiritual elevation for me. It also signified the winding down of a period of rest and restoration. Rest will continue to be central to how I design my days with the shift being the integration of rest. Simply put, rest is required, so I have shifted my mindset to working from rest rather than working to earn rest. This time has proven to me that rest is a mindset- a discipline. I reflected on the behaviors that made rest more elusive. Some of the ways I evaded rest were caring for others, housework, talking on the phone and writing articles that I have never published! I found that I simply had to do things during spaces I held for naps. I set a bedtime that I exceeded nightly and further exhausted myself by using my phone before bed- a definite no-no for a good night sleep. Essentially, I would do anything to avoid real rest. I imagine you might be familiar with some of these practices.
At a point of pure exhaustion, I began looking into the root(s) of my issues with rest. Notice that I reference rest and not sleep. I slept every night, not always well, but I did sleep. Rest was elusive and the result was a ton of distraction and inefficiency. The root of my issues with rest were rooted in worthiness. Simply put, I had decided that I was not enough, so therefore, I needed to keep going in order to “earn” my rest. Once I became wrapped up in the cycle of pushing through, I no longer understood the signals of needing rest, except when I dragged myself out of bed in the morning. My health was deteriorating, relationships impacted and my emotional state was simply unhealthy. I even found it difficult to meditate and strained to hear from God.
One day I found it difficult to move. On another day, I couldn’t fall asleep. On another, I fell asleep while praying. I surrendered. I sought help and created a new schedule. I made it a commitment to seek rest. One of my soul-sisters shared a sermon with me entitled “Why Did God Rest?” delivered by Sr. Pastor Leonce Crump Jr. at Renovation Church. She was kind enough to send it again, knowing that I needed to be reminded of the fact that God found it important to rest. As I listened, I made the commitment to shift the way I think about rest. I am more rested now than I have been in decades, THANK GOD!
Why does it matter? We have been conditioned to believe that rest is not important. People make comments about sleeping when they die and glorify working 18-20 hours in any given day. Add the unreal levels of stress and you have recipe for disaster. We simply cannot keep up that lifestyle nor are we meant to do so. I offer you a different solution- Mind Your Momentum. Everything in life has cycles and patterns; there is a constant ebb and flow. When you focus on momentum, you shift your thinking immediately into the pace we should experience. In the example of a NASCAR race, the racers circle the track following the pace car. The pace is at the speed limit of the pit, significantly slower than the speed during the race. Similarly, when rested, we emerge coming up to speed and then we can explode into action. When there is an incident, the pace car comes back to ensure the safety of the drivers until the hazard is removed. We can think of napping, prayer, meditation or Breathwork as opportunities to keep ourselves “safe” from burnout and inefficient work when we are not at our best. Most importantly, God commanded that we “Remember the sabbath and keep it holy” Exodus 20:8.
In the same way that God created space for rest, we are to do the same. In rest you will experience clarity and renewal. You will work more efficiently and reduce many of the invisible health risks inherent in stress, anxiety and depression. Our decision to rest is what allows us to run. Rest is the fuel we need to keep going. Rest gives our physical body the space to recover and replenish what is needed for the path ahead. Rest ensures that we can be at our best for what really matters. I know that any hours on my phone or even reading past bedtime were not worth a mediocre performance the following day. By not resting, we are always mortgaging a day or moment in the future. What seems like immediate progress is actually leading to our demise. Chose to Mind Your Momentum. Give yourself the guilt-free gift of rest when you need it and trust that when the pace car moves out of the way, you will be a contender for the leader of the pack. Peace and Blessings.
