Giving the Gift of Rest

Needing the gift of rest?

I’m sure you’ve been there. You need a day “off” so bad you can taste it. You’ve been run ragged by taking the kids everywhere they need to be. You’ve done your best to take care of your spouse. Everyone has had food when they needed it. Work has been crazy busy. You’re exhausted.

And God says you need a day of rest, too. But how is that supposed to happen? The list never ends and while a day off sounds like a miracle, you also crave it so bad that it nearly hurts.

Who needs rest?

Well, we all do. You, your spouse, your kids…you all need the gift of rest. The Bible says GOD rested. If He did, surely we need it too. When we think about it, it’s almost silly that He needed to tell us to rest! If we model Him, then we should be taking a rest as often as He did – weekly.

You and your spouse work hard all week between house and home. Your kids work hard at school and extracurriculars. All of you have likely been burning the candle at both ends are are just tired of it all. You dream of having a day with no demands. I’m positive your husband and kids dream of the same thing.

When do we rest?

Scripture says we should rest one day a week, as God did. Generally the modern church sees this rest as occurring on the Sabbath. The problem is, some people say the Sabbath is Saturday and others say it’s on Sunday. This article does a great job with describing the Sabbath as it occurs in Scripture.

As far as my research has taught me, choosing a day to rest and connect with God is what’s important. Yes, there are valid arguments for either day, but I think God cares most about our intent than which day it happens (see this book for a great description of that idea).

So pick a day and give the gift of rest.

Where should we rest?

I like to rest at home. But home is my happy place. 🏠 My husband would rather rest by shopping. 🛍️ He likes being outside of the house – home is where the list is, for him. My son prefers to rest at home, but with a video game. 🎮

Each of us is different. A restful place to one person is not restful to someone else. The challenge in families comes in when one person wants to rest at home and someone else wants to rest outside the house.

This discrepancy will require some negotiating if we want to give the gift of rest. Perhaps this week you rest by going to a park or walking around the mall, but next week you rest by staying home. The key is for each of you to clearly tell the other where you’d like to rest. Then make a plan so you both get what you want.

Why should we rest?

Well, I’ll be honest. Between God demonstrating rest and telling us to rest, that’s good enough for me. But I get that not everyone is swayed by those reasons.

The NIH tell us that rest is actually a health issue. Rest allows us to recover from life’s strain and illness. Psych Central says that rest gives our mind and our emotions a break. I know my mind and emotions need a break after a long week! Rest (and sleep) can help boost our immunity, improve our memory, energize us, stimulate creativity, help with weight management, stay mentally and emotionally fit, improve concentration and productivity, improve our overall health, slows down the aging process, make us happier, help us eat fewer calories (I’m guessing this one is related to the weight management one above), and experience less pain.

How should we rest?

Here’s the big question. What does rest look like?

Honestly, it looks different for every person. God rested from His work of creation on the seventh day. He took a day off and admired all He did. God gave us the Sabbath as a gift for us (see Mark 2). After a lot of research about this, I believe at its heart true rest means we spend time honoring God and all He has done for us. How we do that is very personal. For many people it starts with some sort of church or worship time.

After that rest may include a family day, reading, playing games, or not doing traditional work (paid work or that which normally occupies our day). Some people go so far as to cook the meal a day in advance so they aren’t cooking on their rest day. I’m not here to say that is right or wrong – just letting you know how some people live their rest.

This article gives you a framework for designing a family rest day. On our rest day, I choose to unplug from some technology. I don’t work my paid job, I don’t get on the computer, and I avoid social media. My kids and I will watch movies and I get to read. I do cook and sometimes bake on my rest day, but I love those activities and thank God for the ability to serve my family in that way. I try to give the gift of rest by honoring that rest looks different for everyone in my family.

How do we give the gift of rest?

The first way that we can give the gift of rest is to avoid making demands from our loved ones on the day we plan to practice rest. That means the honey-do list and the kids’ list takes a break. If possible, homework gets done on the non-rest weekend day.

Giving the gift of rest also means we tell our family what we are planning. We let them know that we want a family day for rest, or we give them the freedom to do what they want on the rest day. My kids LOVE it when I tell them the whole day is theirs to do what they want. They enjoy when we watch movies and play games, but also appreciate time to talk with their friends or play video games.

When we give the gift of rest we release our loved ones from the pressures of DOING. We allow them the gift of just BEING.

Sometimes giving the gift of rest means that we do what someone else wants to do for rest. That means sometimes I go shopping on Sunday after church, even though I’d rather be home. Sacrificing for our loved ones is a gift we can’t give too often. Honestly, God sacrificed his Son for us – Jesus sacrificed His love for us. We can sacrifice some home time, or shopping time, for someone we love.

What about you?

So what do you think? What will your rest look like? What day do you want to claim for rest? Let me know in the comments below. New ideas are always fun!

With love,

🌸 Andrea