Image by Captainkimo
Every Friday I join Lisa-Jo over at The Gypsy Mama for her Five Minute Friday thoughts. It’s an opportunity for each of us to throw caution, grammar and spell check to the wind as we whip through a quick five minutes of a topic, just straight from the heart to the head to the keyboard to you. Today she takes more than five minutes, and I am thinking I just may follow that lead…
My Waaaaay more than Five Minute Friday: Rest
Yesterday was a lovely end of summerish kind of day, and I got to spend the weekday morning outside, not in an office.
I was at a playground.
With friends from near and far, with moms, dads and kids.
We chatted, laughed, shared stories, concerns and hopes.
I played with the young ones, pushed them on the swings, held them up so they could conquer the monkey bars just like the big kids do, and we slid down the slide.
It was a great morning.
Fun.
Restful.
Doesn’t that word just roll around gently in your head and settle gently on you like the warmth of a summer day, as you imagine sitting contentedly in a chair at the beach, a gentle breeze blowing as the rhythm of the waves lulls you to sleep?
Restful times spent in the company of those you love.
I used to listen in envy to stories like this, of time spent purposefully in the company of friends, during the day, no less!- and wished that it were possible for me.
But there was never time. I was too busy. Working. Going. Moving. Doing.
But there was. And there is. For each of us.
Time for it to be Possible.
To. Rest.
How can that be when I spent so many years being jealous of those that had chosen a different path, and knowing that it just couldn’t be done with my circumstances?
Because I have now made it a priority to take time for what is truly important.
Because I made listening to God a priority as opposed to arguing with Him about knowing best, and have walked out in faith from my day job towards what I think will be a better, brighter, more satisfying fit for me, in which I can work in my sweet spot.
How could I leave my day job, and-gulp!-my paycheck?
Because my dear hubbie and I made wise financial management a priority a little over a year and a half ago, we have learned to be much better stewards of the money entrusted to us, and our lives have changed dramatically for the better. (Yes, it was waaaay past time to smarten up, and we did it through taking Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. I highly recommend the program.)
This choice meant we got to say no to many, many things so that we could say yes later to what was really important to us.
Like the completely unexpected appearance of the opportunity to put my life on a new and exciting path, doing something that I love.
Being on this path means we are able to set priorities more in alignment with what is truly important, not urgent.
Important. Not urgent.
So often we choose to indulge in habits and lifestyles that require a 50-60-70 hour a week job that takes us away from family and friends.
We choose to be involved in events, groups and activities that further drain our pocketbooks and leave us panting for breath as we just try to keep up with it all.
Someone finally says to us, “You need to take a break. You need to rest.”
“Rest?!”, you think. “Are you crazy? If I stop for one second, every one of these plates I’m trying to keep spinning is going to come crashing down on me!”
Are we not better served to slow the pace, to start putting down those plates and examine which is truly important to us, and let go of those that are not, of those that actually keep us from what really matters?
Rest, my dear readers, take time to rest, pray and listen to the wisdom you will hear. It will be worth every, single precious moment.
Speak Your Mind