Rhythms of Rest

My alarm goes off. Coffee beans grind. Water boils and bubbles in the kettle. The french press gurgles as I push down the lid. I pour my coffee and head out the door. 20 minutes on the road and the highway unfolds before me. The sun peers over the ridge on my left. The day has begun and the Tennessee hills greet me on my way to work. These moments of gratitude for my landscape propel me forward as I begin my day. Once back to my pillow that night, I feel the warmth of the blankets around me as I settle into my cozy cocoon. The day was long, and I relish the rest that comes to prepare me for another.

Its easy to reach the end of a day wondering where the time went - to feel weary and drained by the events of the day. I find many of us use our busyness to make us feel important, valued, and needed. Yet, at the same time, our busyness drains us until we are left parched for rest amidst the bustling desert of "must-do's."

Cultivating healthy rhythms of rest has helped me through the busiest of seasons. Before I divulge to you some of my own rhythms of rest, let's define this word "rhythm" for a moment. When I refer to a "rhythm," I'm speaking of a habit, but in a looser and more practical sense. These rhythms or habits ebb and flow like waves. They can look different in different seasons of life, but decidedly have the same purpose. Rhythms of rest essentially mean the habits or practices you use to cultivate rest.

My Rhythms of Rest:

1 - Day of Rest (Sabbath)

"Sabbath-keeping is more than just a day of rest; it is a way of ordering one’s entire life around a pattern of working six days and then resting on the seventh. It is an approach to living in time that helps us honor the rhythm of things—work and rest, fruitfulness and dormancy, giving and receiving, being and doing, activism and surrender." - Ruth Haley Barton

Picking a day of rest helps me to recognize my limits and trust that for this one day, my to-do list can wait. It is acknowledging "I am finite, and God is in control."

I think many Christians tend to choose Sunday as a "day of rest" and then pack it full of church, serving, family activities, as well as all the preparations for the week ahead. Unfortunately, the result is that we reach the end of our day more exhausted than when we started. I've found it helpful to start my Sabbath at 10 am on Saturday (after I've taught my yoga class for the weekend) and end it at 10 am on Sunday (before church). These 24 hours help me to prepare my heart for worship the next day, while also allowing me time to truly fill my day with delightful activities - blogging, napping, reading, some TV, an at-home spa day, pursuing hobbies, etc. As you consider activities to fill your own Sabbath, consider choosing ones that not only rest your body, but also rejuvenate your spirit and soul.

For more on Sabbath rest - check out Ruth Haley Barton's book Sacred Rhythms and see her chapter on Sabbath.

2 - Limiting Social Media

Though some may find it odd that placing a limit on social media is considered "rest," it could be helpful to consider how you feel after heavily consuming social media. Tired? Anxious? Weary? I know once I hit 15 minutes or so of scrolling its easy to begin playing the "comparison game." To love others and myself well, I've set an activity timer on my Instagram app, that notifies me when I've reached 15 minutes of media that day. Though I don't always cut myself off at this mark, it is a gentle "soul nudge" to be mindful of how long I've been scrolling.

This limit keeps me from the endless hours of viewing reels and posts, which can sometimes bring me to a place of idleness, comparison and even jealousy. It allows me enough the time to stay updated on the lives of my friends and some favorite influencers, while also keeping others updated on my own life as well.

3 - "Strategic Spread"

"Strategic spread" as I like to call it, is the idea of curating your weeks in a way that spreads out the load. For example - when I clean the house, I don't mop, dust, vacuum, and scrub the bathrooms all in one day after an already exhausting day of work. Instead I spread out each task for a different day. By the end of the week, my home is clean and it only took an hour of mindful cleaning each day.

In addition, as I strategically spread out errands and chores, I like to add in elements associated with rest to bring more delight to my work. Here are some examples:

Grocery run after work?

Pick up a "ready-made" meal with your groceries so you don't have to also cook a whole meal that night. (Or ask my husband to cook!)

A sink full of dirty dishes?

Put on some music, light a candle, or share the load with a spouse or room-mate!

Cleaning the bathroom?

Reward yourself with a bath afterwards in your freshly cleaned tub! Add bath salts and a face mask and you've turned cleaning day into spa day.

For more thoughts on finding beauty, rest, and gratitude in the mundane, check out a favorite book of mine - Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Warren.

Rhythms of Rest I'm Wanting to Grow:

1- Scripture before Phone

This is an idea that I was recently introduced to through Justin Whitmel Earley's book The Common Rule.

"Refusing to check the phone until after reading a passage of Scripture is a way of replacing the question, 'What do I need to do today?' with a better one, 'Who am I and who am I becoming?' We have no stable identity outside of Jesus. Immersion in scripture... forms us daily in our true identity as children of the King, dearly loved." (Earley)

This rhythm, will encourage me to wake a bit earlier in order to spend my time with Jesus before checking my texts, emails, and instagram feed. It will start my day off with resting in my identity - redeemed and loved, rather than sorting through my to-do's.

2 - Silence & Solitude

In the fall of last year I took a "day of silence." This was completed as part of my 200 hour yoga teacher training. It was assigned to encourage more mindfulness, gratitude, and self-awareness as we began our journey as yoga instructors.

In all of my days attending church, I had never once have been challenged by a pastor to spend a day in silence or solitude. And yet, silence and solitude are practices found in the early church and by Jesus himself. I want to learn more about these practices and begin to integrate them into my own life more fully.

“We are starved for quiet, to hear the sound of sheer silence that is the presence of God himself.”

(Ruth Haley Barton - Silence & Solitude)

Warmly,

Audrey