The Gift of Rest: What I Did & Lessons I’ve Learned

As I’m sitting here writing this article, my body is telling me, “Girl, what are you doing still up? Go to bed!”

Well, body. It isn’t rest day.

Yet.

And here I am writing an article about rest. #OhTheIrony

A few years ago, I learned about the importance of the gift of rest and taking one day to rest each week. Since then, I’ve been working on applying the Biblical principles of rest and self-care.

And after a few years of practicing, I’m pretty sure I understand what God means when He says He wants us to rest after working so hard. After all, He Himself rested after creating/working for seven days straight.

For this week’s #WellnessWednesday post, I want to share with you what I’ve applied.

Here are the lessons I’ve learned these last few years about the gift of rest:

NO. 1

I purposefully took a (week)day off from my 9-5 job.

LESSON I LEARNED

It was euphoria to grab some coffee without feeling rushed, haha! I also treated myself to a manicure for the first time. I will also say that it felt amazing to relax on this day and not think about the 9-5. However, I didn’t take a day off the blog and still worked to create content.

I learned that I am worth taking time off often to recharge and that it’s okay to take a day off even if I’m not sick or have a doctor’s appointment. I don’t need an excuse other than to recharge and pamper myself and that’s completely okay.

NO. 2

I didn’t take a day of rest…multiple times.

LESSON I LEARNED

Now hear me out. I’ve had a hard time finding a day of complete rest from my day job and the blog. And I say this because I use my free time on the weekends to shoot content for the blog and social media.

Anyway, I noticed that when I didn’t take a day of rest, I’d have a hard time getting into a creative mode that week. No matter how hard I tried, words wouldn’t come to me for any of my blog posts I had planned. After 20+ product or outfit shots, the images I took still weren’t up to my standards. I couldn’t even post content on social media because it didn’t feel like my best work. And I promised myself quality over quantity.

Now that I’m seeing how one day of not resting is affecting my work, I thought, “Maybe Pastor Morris is on to something about this one day of rest thing. I mean, he did support his message with scripture.”

NO. 3

During a complete day of rest I took, I slept in and out all day without any guilt.

LESSON I LEARNED

I’m the kind of person who has a hard time sleeping in on Saturdays because I could use the time I’m sleeping to be productive and get things done. Not seeing any results from my day gets me upset. Yeah, I’m that driven.

Drinking plenty of water, getting lots of sleep, eating right and working out does equal to weight loss. However, if any of those are out of balance, I’ll forever be struggling to release my unwanted pounds. I know, without a doubt, that my lack of water intake and lack of sleep is the reason why I’m having a very hard time releasing the pounds I want gone.

The top lesson I’ve learned?

And trusting God includes trusting that He’ll provide the physical and mental energy you need to get things done all while enjoying life.

I used to feel guilty for loving myself.

So if you’re in the same boat, please take this post seriously. You can’t love what you do or be there for someone you love if your gas tank is not full to the brim. Take a day of rest to care of your mind, body and spirit because you are worthy.

Not only that, but you’ll find that your work will bring you more joy and that’s when the fire will keep burning. That’s when you’re excited to jump out of bed in the morning and love what life has to offer.

That’s what #goals is all about. Am I right? What do you think about the gift of rest God has given us?

Have you ever thought of gift of rest from this perspective?