Rest

"Sometimes the most urgent thing you can possible do is take a complete rest" (A. Brilliant).

Message received loud and clear!

Somewhere toward the beginning of last week, my body began sending me signals that I needed to take it easy. As someone who loves my job, I, of course, chose to ignore the problem and continue on my feet in the classroom all the while trying to ignore the increasing pressure in my lower back. That was a mistake.

On Friday, I could barely get out of bed and was practically in tears on my way out of the house and into my truck to head to work. I knew I needed to be home, but it was the last day of class for my Discovery students, and we had a special event planned for them that I did not want to miss. Whether it was my stubborness or a just heightened sense of self-importance that made me head off to school is your guess.

I got to school, and my principal assisted me back out the door. I went home and straight to bed and there remained until Sunday morning. I read an entire book and started another, took a few naps, and caught up with friends on the phone. I said "no" to my obligations and other plans of interest, and remained confined within the walls of my house.

And it was refreshing.

It is easy for us to get caught up in the Sabbath legislation and forget the purpose behind God's command to rest. As it turns out, resting is an important aspect to our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health and well-being, but we don't do it very well. It wasn't too long ago that I read an article that explained how with modern technology, we are actually fitting 31 hours worth of work and activity into our 24 hour days. I wonder how long this can go on before each of us reaches our limit?

Even our Christian Sabbaths (Sundays) can be filled with so much obligation, preparation, and responsibility that there is little time left for the kind of quality rest that replentishes and renews. We talk often about addictions to drugs, alcohol, and other things but choose to ignore our addiction to busyness, which is just as destructive. Our American obsession with "productivity" and how that ties into our value and usefulness to society causes us to ignore some of our most fundamental needs -- like rest and worship and time with the people we love.

Isn't it funny how I always crave Chick-fil-A or need something from Hobby Lobby for student projects on Sundays? I respect their ability to not cave in to the money that can come from the Sunday market, but more importantly, I appreciate that they give their employees the opportunity to rest (whether they choose to rest or not).

I had no choice but to rest this weekend, so being incapacitated by lower back pain that restricted my every move might not have been such a bad thing in hind sight. That said, I will gladly accept the recovery!

After all, I head back to work on Monday.