“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” Genesis 2:2-3 (NIV)

LEARN

A few weeks ago, I told myself I wasn't allowed to go to bed until I checked everything off my to-do list. I came home from work that day and immediately set foot to complete the list. I threw some laundry in the wash and then pulled out the vacuum, getting excited as I anticipated answering the question, "What did you do today?" with how productive I had been. Not only would I receive praise and maybe a silent clapping emoji from anyone who heard about my beautifully completed to-do list, I would also feel much better about myself than I had the few days prior, right?

As I began the mundane pattern of pushing and pulling the vacuum across my hardwood floor, I started thinking about my motivations behind this to-do list. I also started thinking a lot about rest and my lack thereof. I realized that somewhere along the way, I learned to associate my productivity with my worthiness.

Growing up, I was a pretty proactive kid. I remember staying busy almost all the time, even if busy just meant playing with my neighborhood friends. When I got to high school, I became even more busy. I signed up for just about every extra-curricular possible, and then did my best to excel at each of them. I'm saying this simply to recognize the pattern I developed early on of finding my value in my productivity and activity. I don't recall my parents or peers ever explicitly telling me that the more I did and the better I did it, the more important I was. In fact, I can vividly recall the way everyone else around me balanced their productivity with rest. My dad was (and still is) an avid napper, my mom made sure to prioritize evening walks no matter how busy her day was, and my friends were great at napping, sleeping in, and binge-watching Netflix (three things that have never been a part of my regular skill set). Nonetheless, I carried my pattern of productivity into my college career.

My very last semester of college, I found myself more burnt out than ever before, clinging to the hope that once I graduated I would finally take time for myself, for true rest. I would say the first couple of months post-grad I succeeded at my goal of finding rest. Even then I looked at rest as a task to not just complete, but to excel in. Now, here I am almost one year post-grad and I am finally starting to learn the real importance of rest. This theme of rest has been all around me, almost begging me to acknowledge it in a new way. I've fallen in love with a very talented napper, my church has given multiple sermons on the beauty of rest, and I am haunted by the empty time and space that fills my life as I continue to grow into this new stage of life, requiring me to rest.

Recently one of the pastors at my church preached about the balance between work and rest, emphasizing the creation story and how God rested on the seventh day. My pastor said this shows us that rest is the "completion of the creative act." I can’t help but wonder if God did this on purpose to set an example for how we should live our own creative lives. After all, He's God, so He surely did not NEED rest, but He rested anyway. Like God did in this story, we must make rest an intentional and purposeful choice.

Some of you are probably chuckling to yourself as you read this, thinking about how easy it is for you to rest, how you love taking naps or settling down with a glass of wine at the end of the day or going on a sunset bike ride with your kids. If that's you, I envy the beautiful, balanced life you have created for yourself and I seek your guidance as I work to create that for my own self as well. I do think I'm headed in that direction, but it's a journey I must continue to grapple with.

During one of my regular neighborhood walks, I came across a view just a few blocks from my home that I had never noticed before. I stood for quite a while at the top of a hill overlooking the airport and the bay filled with sail boats and lovely twinkly lights. I marveled at the way the sail boats looked as they sat perfectly still in the harbor with the sunset behind them. It appeared to me that the restful nature of the boats is what made the view so beautiful. The majority of the boats were simply docked in their place and if all of them were out sailing, the view would have looked much different. In fact, if the boats had been active, most of them probably would not have been in my sight at all.

I became frustrated each time an airplane flew by, obstructing my view of the pleasantly still harbor. What if we are called to be more like the sail boats and less like the airplanes? What if God is looking out on us begging us to just be still? Maybe our rest is a part of the picture He has painted of creation, and if we don't take hold of a holy rest we will continue to fly right through the painting, never stopping to become a part of it as we were created to.

In case you were wondering, my to-do list remained only half completed that night a few weeks ago. I went to bed early and even left my laundry in the dryer. I know, crazy right?

KNOW

One of my favorite worship songs is written from the perspective of Jesus calling us to himself, to find rest in him and to anchor ourselves in his peace. I’m beginning to think that rest is simply the act of coming to a stillness in Christ. This can mean spending time in prayer and in the Word, but it can also mean allowing yourself to nap despite your lengthy to-do list, sharing a meal with your loved ones and not getting up to do the dishes right away, taking your dog on a run, and SO much more. What does resting in Christ look like to you?

My prayer for you and for me is that we each learn what it is that brings us closer to a holy rest and that we don't allow productivity to become the indication of our worthiness. I have a pretty good feeling that this holy rest will give us greater insight into our worth and value than anything else could.

Spend time reading the creation story and reflecting on God’s choice to REST on the seventh day.
Listen to your favorite worship music and spend time praying for a holy rest.