Of course, the cardiology fellow WOULD be talking about how she needs to get rest, right?
If you know me, though, you know that I have been trying to take a day for rest since I was in med school, when the temptation to work every day was overwhelming. I always felt behind and that I wouldn’t ever catch up if I didn’t take every single day and try and gulp some of the water down from the proverbial firehose that we call medical school.
One of these days in medical school (I think it was while I was studying for STEP 1 or 2), I realized that if I didn’t take this rest day, it felt like my brain would stop working.
Why is this important?
Sabbath means a day of rest or abstinence from work. This practice comes from God, who did not rest on the 7th day after he created literally everything because he was tired (he is omnipotent and holds all power), but He rested to provide an example for us. In doing this, he set apart a day for himself. See Exodus 20:11
When we choose to work every single day, I think it can show a lack of faith. Do we not trust God to take care of us? Do we not believe that he was serious about taking this day and setting it aside?
I am not always off on Saturdays or Sundays, but I do have at least one day off a week and I take that day to rest.
If it’s on a Sunday, then I start my day how I always start my days (refer to this blog post). After this, it usually consists of going to church and then fellowshipping with some friends – going over their house and hanging out or going to lunch. I don’t do ANY work on this day if I can help it. This is so that I can function during the week and because I believe that it honors God.
Below are some reasons that I make time in my unbelievably busy schedule to rest.
How to Take a Rest Day
- Take time to refocus on the Lord.
Use this day to reconnect with God, fellow believers, and the word (especially if you haven’t had a good week in the word). This is our day to remind ourselves of how good God is, his blessings to his people, and pray about things that are on the horizon. Take this time to reflect on how good God has been to you. Thank him for health, a sound mind, energy, provision, etc.
2. Work hard, rest hard
I’m not saying that you can only have a rest day if you worked exactly as you planned to all week. Doing that may even be counterproductive by depriving you of the rest you need to charge forward in the next day, week, month, etc.
Give your best effort every single day, doing what you do, doing what the Lord called you to do with joy. This takes effort and blood and sweat and tears a lot of times. Knowing that you have planned rest coming up helps you to work hard. It’s just like in your gym class when they say, “5 seconds left, don’t wimp out, Analise!” It energizes you to be able to do more in that moment.
3. Resting means reflection
Take some time and just think about the previous week.
I don’t think that we are thankful enough for the things that God empowers us to do every day. We should take more time to reflect on the ways he has been faithful, the ways that he has answered our prayers, the ways that we are growing.
4. Resting is personalized
Something I may (or may not) do on my “rest days” that other people may scoff at is work out. Working out is restful, re-energizing, and enjoyable for me. I crave it when I am not doing it regularly. If this isn’t you- that’s fine, do you, boo!
I know, I know, Lise, what about the rest days you need from exercising?? Yes I have those too – they just may fall on different days than what I’m calling my “rest days”.
5. Empowerment to say, “No.”
It’s completely ok to say no to things that don’t qualify as rest or enjoyment for you. If you don’t want to go get your nails done, don’t! If you don’t want to get a massage and instead want to take serial naps, do that! If you want to play video games all day, eat a burrito from chipotle, hang out with friends, hang out with no one, dance to T. Swift’s new album, do all of those things.
Don’t do work on this day, though there is great temptation to do so. Resist that and recognize that God gave us this rest for a reason.
If spending all of your day on social media doesn’t bring you joy, then don’t do it! Do what makes you feel rested and reminds you of how grateful you should be for what God has done.
So, lets do this well in 2023. Lets make this a year that we don’t deprive ourselves of one of the things we desperately need- rest.
Gone to enjoy some much deserved rest,
Lise