The summer after my freshman year of college I remember making the 10 hour drive from Cincinnati to New Jersey by myself. After finally arriving home, I hugged my mom and went upstairs and just slept. I cannot tell you for how long, but the rest did me good. I woke up ready to take on the summer.
It’s difficult to talk about rest in the middle of one of the most hectic times of year; however, it’s important. Without rest it’s easy for you to become burned out and lose love for what you do. When you are restless you become easily irritated and unpleasant to be around. You lose focus and make simple and avoidable mistakes. You need to rest and while that might not always seem possible here are a few steps to change that:
- Do One Thing Less: Maybe it’s watching one less hour of television or reading one less blog post (After this one). Eliminate one thing from your schedule that might be using up your time. Do not fill that time with something else, instead incorporate it into your schedule. Build it into your sleep. Enjoy the margin.
- Share The Burden: If you are tired it can be a strong indication that you are doing too much. Share the responsibility by asking someone to help you out. There are people in your ministry and your life willing to help you out. There are people in your ministry and life that have the margin and capacity to share the burden. Take advantage of it and breathe a little easier.
- Write It Out: It’s easy to grow frustrated when you lose sight of what needs to be done. Take a minute to write out goals, a check list or a to-do list that will help you stay on track. When you are efficient with your time and energy you’ll find that you have some left over. Keep the list visible and share with people to hold you accountable.
- Connect With God: It’s so easy to forget that you need God especially when you work for the Church. The Bible study you are planning or the message you are crafting can be fruitful; however, draining at the same time. Make sure you are taking the time to connect with God so that He can fill you and fuel you with the Holy Spirit. Do not be afraid to lean on Him.
Rest when you can so that you can be affective and efficient. The more energy and focus you have the more you will be able to accomplish. And sometimes in order to do more and get more you need to just rest.
How do you find rest?
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