Photo by Danielle Dolson on Unsplash
Our house is dark and cozy as rain pours outside. I’m imagining all the items I could mark off my to-do list. Clean out my file drawers. Shed those old bank records. Organize the storage closet under the stairs. Start the next newsletter column. Write a chapter of my current novel. Find a part-time job to support our retirement lifestyle.
Guess which one I am choosing. None of the above.
The rain makes my arthritis ache, and the darkness has left my mind a little less than clear. I’ve spent lots of decades pushing through and doing the work on days like today. On days even worse than today. But, today, I can choose to rest. To read, to listen, to watch, to nap, to simply sit and enjoy the rain.
Our culture makes it hard to embrace rest even when life allows for it. We feel the urgency to do more, to produce and post and prove that we are worthy of our little spot in the world. Don’t believe the lie, Dear Reader. We were never designed for work without respite.
It’s okay to rest.
God bless.