And He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) -Mark 6:31

God wants us to serve. That is our sole purpose here on Earth – serve others and lead them to Christ. God also wants us to rest. If we don’t take the time to recharge, we will end up in a crash and burn situation. I know how it is. We are a go, go, go society. Sometimes we leave home at seven in the morning and do not return until after eight in the evening. We are in a constant state of hustle and bustle. That is just the way it is when you have children in various activities. We are full-time wives, mothers, homemakers, activity jugglers, entrepreneurs, and Christ worshippers. We are the heartbeat of our homes. We are strong in Christ, and He will absolutely give us the strength to keep going. Nonetheless, He wants us to set aside time to replenish our souls. We need to set aside days where we don’t venture out. We need days where we stay in our pajamas and nap. Sometimes we need to turn off all the devices and let them recharge so that we can, too. And we don’t need to feel guilty about resting. If you do not take care of yourself, then you will not be fully able to serve others. If you continue pouring all of your strength into different activities without taking a day off, you will end up tired and bitter. Resting gives us strength to keep going. Resting reenergizes our brain and lifts the fog we’ve been walking around in. Resting refreshes our hearts and invites peace to take over. We don’t have anywhere to go, no makeup to put on, and we can just focus on praising God for our many, many blessings. If you are like me, thoughts of growing laundry piles, meal prep, and being superwoman for your family tries to consume your mind. The to-do list taunts you. They tell you that you have to, that you can’t stop, that you are lazy if you rest. That is a lie from the devil. Don’t listen to it. He wants you run down and wore out. Take your day of rest knowing that God wants you to. Rest in peace and the hope that God is fueling your soul for amazing things to come. Rest now so you can serve tomorrow.

God, please help me to actually rest. To keep the blinds shut, to nap, to read, to pray, to just be. Take away the guilt that tells me that I need to go, go, go. Let me rest in your peace and hope, and let that rest refresh me. Thank you for your strength to keep going, and thank you for your rest that replenishes my soul. Amen.