Dear You,
It’s okay to rest. It’s even more than okay—it’s essential. I know you can feel as if there is so much to do, and a moment of quiet can feel like a dessert stolen and eaten in secret before anyone sees. There’s so much depending on you. How can rest be anything but selfish?
Yet rest is exactly what enables you to love well for a lifetime. I struggled with this for years until a friend gently laid her hand on my heart and whispered, “If you never get refilled, how will you be able to pour out?” You are not infinite. You are human. You have limits. Acknowledging that is not selfish; it’s worship. Rest says to God and to the rest of the world, “I know I’m not in charge. And I trust the One who is.”
Rest comes in many different forms. It can be quick snooze on the couch or a full night of sleep. It can be reading, laughing, or playing. It can be an attitude of your heart that chooses not to strive and worry even when you’re in the middle of a busy season. In all of that, you can honor God.
God doesn’t need you to complete your to-do list. He created the world in seven days simply by speaking. He doesn’t have any trouble getting things accomplished—with or without us. But what he has chosen for you and only you to be able to do is this: to love him, those around you, and yourself. Part of loving well is resting well.
We can find ourselves going at a frantic pace and never stop to ask, “What is driving me?” Often it’s fear, and that is not what God has for us. Instead of being driven by fear, he invites us to be led by love.
So pause, take a deep breath or even a nap if you dare, and in doing so show the world that you serve One who is kind and loving to those who belong to him. Because he lets them rest. He invites them to peace. He takes their to-do list and trades it for a to-be list that leads to joy.
You have permission to rest today.
XOXO
(inspired by Gen. 2:2; Isa. 40:11; Phil. 4:6–7 and adapted from If We Could Have Coffee…{ebook})
{to-go coffee for your heart}
Welcome to the Coffee for Your Heart weekly link-up!
You’re an encourager so I’m asking you to pour out a little love with your words every Wednesday {link-up goes live at 5:30am CST}. Simply write an encouraging blog post and then share it here with us. If you don’t have a blog, you can still come by holleygerth.com to read the posts and join in too.
If you’d like a writing prompt to get you going, here’s a list I created just for you: 30 Writing Prompts.
Pretty please use this new button in your post so others can easily join in with us {html code in right sidebar}…
And when you link up your post, take a moment to leave an encouraging comment on the one that’s linked up just before yours. Thanks, friends!
I’m having Coffee For Your Heart with my friend Holley Gerth
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