Rest

I just got back a few days ago from an amazing trip of celebrating a marriage, seeing lots of friends, and enjoying some great sights of New England, which deserves and shall receive it’s very own blog post.  This post, however, is about the great conversations I was able to have in the past two days with friends whom I haven’t talked to in literally months.

It was great!  We talked on the phone, so I was like, “whoa, this is awesome!” and “ maybe, just maybe, they read my blog about ‘bringing back the phone call.’”  Hmm…  Anywho, made me think of something I read as being true: “A conversation with a friend does more to spark your creativity and enthusiasm than five Red-bulls”! 

Amongst the many topics of conversation in order to catch up on each other’s lives, rest was one of them.  I’m sure you’re thinking, “Who the heck talks about rest in a I’m-so-glad-we’re-talking-because-I-really-want-to-know-how-you’re-doing conversation?!”  Well, this girl. 

Maybe it was unsolicited advice.  I’m still trying to decipher this phrase I heard… Like when I should just shut up and listen versus when I should put in my two cents-worth.  Anyway, I gave my two-cents worth about resting in both conversations since I found it slightly ironic that it came into my head.

It was ironic because resting, truly resting, is something I’m learning right now in several facets.  It popped out of my mouth in the first conversation because my friend stated so well my feelings of needing to be productive.  It’s as if having a moment to relax or not have anything pressing or not have anything to cross off a to-do list is a bad thing. 

My life example, which still swings in and out of view, is from my job.  When I first started, I had no patients to see and nothing dietetic-y to do.  I was hired to give nutrition education and counseling to patients for crying out loud!  I definitely didn’t feel productive and on more than one occasion thought, “I can’t believe I’m being paid to do this.  It’s like I’m here twiddling my thumbs all day!  I feel kinda worthless.”  What was I going to do?!

In the second conversation, resting came up because of being too busy.  Granted, needing to feel productive can cause me to fill my schedule to bursting, making me too busy for my own good, but go with me on this one.  My friend stated having something to do every day and night except basically one night.  It’s as if not having a moment to relax or always having something pressing or always having something to cross off a to-do list is a good thing. 

Another life example is from my social life.  I moved to a new city and state and knew a few people, who had their own lives and friends circles.  I went from being busy -- with work, hanging out with friends, talking to friends regularly, knowing my way around town, scheduling fun things to do like football games and swimming -- to a dead stop in Nothingville.  I didn’t know anyone.  I didn’t know the city.  I didn’t have anything fun to do.  What was I going to do?!

I’ll tell ya what I did.  And what I continue to have to do.  I came to grips with the fact that it’s okay to rest. 

Once the sentence about productivity traveled over the phone line, a sermon I had heard that had convicted me about the lack of rest in my life came flooding back to my memory.  I won’t go into the whole sermon but a few things that struck me are 1) God created the whole world, and it was good.  He then rested the seventh day (fun side note: this brings back memories of being in Israel when everything shuts down for Sabbath, making it a mandatory rest day that did wonders) and 2) Our productivity does not define who we are or our worth.  We have a clear definition of who we are in Christ as believers and Christ’s work on the cross shows us our worth.

I may not always feel the most productive but, thankfully, I took that down-time to organize my office, find education material for my future patients, study Spanish, make a Spanish cheat sheet (which saves me from some stress and a lot of frustration, lemme tell ya!), and so on.  It took time, like people said it would, to start filling my appointment slots with patients, but they got filled and are being filled.  As for busyness, sometimes life is busy and sometimes life is not busy.  Since being ushered into a less busy time, I’ve tried to decide on what I really want to spend my time doing and on whom I want to spend my time with.  It’s like a clean slate.  I’ve used the time to read and think, make personal and professional goals, write my thoughts down and then post most of them on this blog, and more.  In then end, I have to relish my time, whatever it may look like, but also to rest.