Rest

I enjoy naps.  I admit it.  I really like it when my kids nap.  Quiet is a good thing.  My body needs rest.  Some of my kids get it.  Rest, that is.  They know how to sit.  They know how to be silent.  They know how to rest.  Others of my kids don't get it.  They need to be up and involved every minute.  Even in their sleep they are restless.  They find it hard to sit, to be quiet, to rest.  

I know these are personality differences.  God has made each of my kids uniquely.  I cannot expect them all to respond to life as I do.  

But how essential is rest?

Christ knew how to rest.  I mean, really, he slept in a boat in the middle of the storm.  He was also in the habit of spending quiet time alone - away from people.

God the Father rested within the first week of our world's existence.  He set the pattern of work and rest.

Repeatedly, God gives examples in his word of those who rested.  A simple search leads to kings, judges, men, and women who learned this valuable lesson.

God obviously thinks rest is important.  So  why, then, do we fight it?

My annoyance level significantly increases when there is no rest, when the noise level and busyness level is incessant.  What results is not pretty, friends.  Gone is the rest.  

So, today I find myself wondering how in the world do I impress on my children the why and how to rest.  

Forcing a square peg into a round hole may be the image you are envisioning.  Me too.  Most often I find myself having to surrender to the unrest unwillingly.  

Rest is a life lesson.  If not learned, chaos, poor learning, unorganization, are just a few of the immediate results.  Long term results may be more damaging:  workaholism, damaged marriages, unsettled families.  

We keep a fairly routine sleep schedule in our home.  There is wiggle room, but we expect that our kids will have time for rest.  The littles in our home keep everyone hopping, but there are times when we just need to assign comfy spots and just chill for ahwile.  That has taken a resolve that other things will not get done.  As my kids do not lean toward rest easily, it takes oversight on our part to make rest happen.  Rest also means taking the time to sit with a child.  It means talking quietly.  It means that it is okay not to have noise in the background.  Rest means that we can choose to stay home.  It also means that each child is okay to play by themselves.  

I do not pretend to have the answers.  In fact, I welcome any suggestions.  How have you made rest for your heart, mind, and body?