How to effectively rest

 I've felt challenged recently, as I have plenty of time in my calendar to rest, yet I often don't feel rested. In Matthew 11:28-30 we are invited to find rest for our souls in Jesus. From my research this is specifically referring to the fact that the Jewish people at the time were burdening themselves in order to seek God, and Jesus was explaining that through him we can seek God and find rest, instead of having to prove ourselves and work to the point of exhaustion. 

These verses challenged me, as I know I have plenty of time sat down so my physical body feels rested, but is my soul rested? Is my mind rested? I often sit watching TV with my husband whilst thinking about a chore I need to do, or next weeks shopping list. My husband said to me one day 'you don't know how to relax', this was quite a bold statement to make, but the more I've pondered on those words, the more I've realised they are true. So I ask myself, how can I seek rest for my mind and my soul? I've challenged myself to do four things and I want to challenge you as well, especially if you're like me and you struggle to find true rest.

Challenge #1 - Turn to Jesus for the ultimate rest

We can't control our surroundings, some days are good and some are bad. You can't always control your work schedule, or your new baby keeping you up all night, you end up realising that sitting down for 10 minutes is not enough to rejuvenate your spirit and to still your mind. If we want to live a life that is full, that has purpose and meaning, but still live a life that feels peaceful and restful then we need to keep seeking Jesus. My personal challenge is to spend even just 10 minutes morning and night to pray to God and ask him to bring my spirit and my mind peace and calmness. To surrender your day to God, even on those good days to let him guide you and bring you peace. I don't know about you, but I don't want to only find 30 minutes of peace in a 15 hour day, for everything to feel chaotic except in those 30 minutes. I want each minute of my day to feel peaceful, and if we're going to get anywhere close to that we need Jesus.

Challenge #2 - Individually discover our best rest

It's only taken me almost 32 years to discover that sitting on a sofa for 3 hours watching a movie does not bring me the best rest. My best rest, the one that impacts me deeply happens when I go on a lovely walk with loved ones. Nature and good company is what replenishes my soul, not 3 hours of TV. I want you to ask yourself, what brings me true rest? What brings me peace that pulls me away from every day pressures and demands? As I mentioned at the start of the blog whilst I'm watching TV my mind is still racing, but when I'm walking my mind feels still. It may take you some time to discover what your best rest is, but I'd encourage you to keep pursuing until you find it. 

Challenge #3 - Practice self care

Getting good sleep and looking after your body (whether that's physically or mentally) is so crucial. Self care can look different for everyone, for some it could be journaling, for others it could be taking a long bath before bed. For me personally, if I don't have a quiet wind down routine before bed and a full 8 hours sleep then I'm not my best self the following day. I mentioned in challenge #1 that we want to feel peaceful 24/7, and as I mentioned the way to achieve this is to seek Jesus daily, however a practical way which can help is looking after yourself. This is similar to challenge #2 as everyone needs to go on their own journey to discover what self care looks like. Self care is different to finding your best rest, I personally think self care is something you need to do daily to reap the best reward. I know for many people having quiet time morning and evening is helpful, getting 8 hours of sleep and exercising is also helpful. You can't pour from an empty cup, so lets make sure we are filling our own cups every single day.

Challenge # 4 - Be aware of your distractions

What distracts you from rest? Like me this could be the list of chores, for you it might be young children, it might be a demanding job or it might be demanding family and friends. Every day there are things in our lives pulling us away from those moments of rest, and as we now know this rest is essential, so how do we deal with those distractions? This will depend on what the distraction is, if it's an object, such as your mobile phone, or the TV, or a book then you need to move away from those physical objects. It gets a lot harder when the distractions are in your mind, or if it's a responsibility like children that you can't just walk away from. For me when those distractions come to my mind I can't simply remove them from my mind, personally if I'm with my husband I find it helpful to talk about what's on my mind and try and find a solution, so that I can return to my rest without that thought hanging over my head. I don't have children, so I can't share from experience how to seek rest in those moments where your children need you. I would encourage you to have a set time every week where if possible you get time away from your children where you can seek your best rest. 

To end this blog I want to encourage you to pray about this topic. I believe that through prayer you will draw closer to Jesus for that ultimate rest, but you will also receive wisdom on your best rest and self care practices. You can also ask Jesus to show you what your distractions are and wisdom on how to deal with those distractions. My heart behind this blog is for us all to seek valuable rest that helps us face every day life and the challenges it brings, and to ultimately be people who are still in spirit and mind because we have the author of rest orchestrating our lives. 

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