You ever have a week that felt like seven Mondays in a row? Or are you staring down a lo-o-o-ng Monday?
Was last week filled to the brim with frustration … or discouragement … or sadness? And now it’s the beginning of a new week and, oh look! you’re still frustrated or discouraged or sad.
Sometimes that’s just how the days roll. It’s not one huge, heartbreaking event. Nope. It’s the daily-ness. The busy-ness. The unrelenting sadness.
Sometimes you just have to take a nap and get over it.
Really.
Forget the trying and the doing and the being and allow yourself to rest.
Rest.
Jesus invited weary people to rest (Matthew 11:28). The Message says to “Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.”
Maybe, just maybe, choosing to find time to rest today would be the wisest decision you make.
In Your Words: I find naps restful. What does rest look like to you? How would you fill in the sentence: Sometimes you just need to ___________________ and get over it.
Where does rest fit into your day? Click to Tweet
Have you learned the unforced rhythms of grace? Click to Tweet
Read the first chapter of Catch a Falling Star by Beth K. Vogt! Click to Tweet
Comments 17
My 16-year-old niece rolls her eyes and tells her sisters to “build a bridge and get over it.” I prefer your suggestion to “take a nap” instead. 😉 But you’re right. There are times in our life that must be endured. Rest. Wait. Heal. Then, pick up and move on.
Author
“Take a bridge and get over it.”
That’s a new one on me, Roxanne.
😉
I wouldn’t generally recommend this, but ‘restful’ for me is a large, cheap cigar and a good book. (The cigars are on my doctor’s recommendation for severe pain and nausea – they do help.)
Some days get tiring from the ‘small stuff’. Things just go slightly wrong – a gust of wind through the window will blow a pile of ordered papers onto the floor, the computer will lose its Internet connection while trying to send an email, my pant leg catches on a dog crate and tears. The Navajo ascribe this to Coyote, the trickster – often thought by whites to be somewhat of a benign ‘humorous’ deity.
But Coyote is more like Loki, in Norse mythology – a malignant, dangerous enemy who knows that the way to break down faith is to fill it with little cracks that admit water when it rains…and when the temperature drops, the water will freeze, and expand, cracking the soul from within.
Author
Great insights today, Andrew. It is amazing how a compendium of little things an break down my faith and admit the water of doubt, discouragement and fear. And yes, given just the right temperature, my soul threatens to crack.
But for God …
But for grace …
Naps—I love ’em. I take a cat nap most days. (No offense, Andrew). When I am particularly stressed out, sometimes I just need to escape with a good novel for 30-40 minutes to forget about my life for a little while. I come out of reading times feeling more relaxed and with a better perspective. Sometimes you just need to take a break from life (book, movie, chocolate) and get over it. 🙂
I really want to take a nap today. Sadly, I can’t. So I guess in place of “take a nap” my fill-in-the-blank looks something like: “Sometimes you just need to drink lots of coffee and get over it.” 🙂 At least it’s hazelnut coffee. That helps! 🙂
Author
Caffeine works.
🙂
Naps work well. Walks are fun, too, and allow me time to clear my head.
Author
I’m a walker too, Keli. Early morning. Early evening. Late at night. All good.
Sometimes you just need to cry and get over it.
Yes, there are those moments when a nap does us a world of good.
Yet, other times, that doesn’t do the trick for me. It’s times like these when all I need is a good cry to feel better. (That’s typically when I turn on A Walk to Remember…)
Blessings for your week, Beth!
Author
Ah, yes. Sometimes a good cry is just what we need, Andrea. Agreed. Absolutely!
I hate naps, fight them, but w/ all that’s going on lately, if I can tell that if I have any chance later today to take one, I’d better grab it. Good advice.
Author
I know some people aren’t nappers, which is why I gave people a chance to fill in the blank. There are other ways to find rest besides napping. Sometimes just listening to a favorite song — or two — does it for me.
Nap! Oh how I would love a nap, but I argue with myself. I don’t have time. But in reality, I would work so much better if I were rested!
Author
Even a cat nap helps, Angela. My husband has taught me how even a 20 minute or 30 minute nap can help recharge mentally and physically.
I like to walk. Just something about outside almost always gives me a better outlook. 🙂
I think I need about a week long nap at this point. Tired of feeling tired and blah. But it’s probably the stage of life I am in, in which case, I’ll probably be feeling this way for quite some time unfortunately. 🙁 Trying to stay positive is not as easy as it used to be.