How many of us are doing too much EVERY day - working 24/7, yes, even

on the weekend? Medically we are told that our bodies need an average of

eight hours of sleep each night. Yet, between housework, studies, business,

jobs, parenting, and volunteering, even all night “bleaching”, we are going

non-stop! How about when you lay down at night? Are there nights when

you can hardly switch off, because your mind keeps going? When you wake

up each morning, is the first thing you think about your TO-DO list or rather,

TO-DO pile?

What about weekends? Do we slow down and take a break from the daily

grind? Even as a society, all stores don’t close on Sundays anymore (not

even for COVID) so we work, shop, and do everything just as we do during

the week. NO REST.

God gave us the ultimate example and rested after He had created the

universe and mankind, and blessed that day and called it holy. Because we

have stigmatized the sabbath, which simply means a day of rest, many of us

have gone to the other extreme and neglected a day of rest. We are busy

working every day of the week. I won’t attempt to tell you which day should

be your day of rest, nor what that day should look like, just that you

absolutely MUST pick a day and rest. God must have had a very good

reason for giving us a day of rest.

We physically need rest. God cannot tire so he really did not need to rest;

but He knows we do. It is scientifically and medically proven that when we

rest our bodies and minds are restored so we are refreshed and able to take

on another day. In Psalm 23:2-3a the Psalmist David rejoiced that God

“…makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He

restores my soul.”

Some of us refuse to lie down in the green pastures provided for us. But why

don’t we? We know it is necessary, but we still push ourselves tirelessly and

complain about how busy we are and how tired we are. We almost wear it

like a badge of honour. When asked how we are, we say “Lord ah tired!!!!

or “so stressed!!!” or even “busy, busy, busy!!!”. We can hardly do anything

leisurely or just for fun, because we have too much to do.

When we don’t rest, we get exhausted, frazzled, lack energy, or get

hyperactive, and find it hard to concentrate. We are grumpy and miserable

and suffer from a myriad of physical and mental illnesses such as anxiety

and depression, and ultimately some of us suffer from burnout or mental

breakdown. We are certainly not enjoying a quality life.

Some years ago, I was responsible for a major project at my workplace. I

would work seven days a week taking work home overnight, leaving home

very early in the mornings and getting home very late at night. I was

working through my lunch hours and skipping meals. I was raising 3

children, and active in church ministry. I was so stressed out that I could

not sleep at nights. I began taking sleeping pills.

One night while driving home I almost passed out. By God’s mercy and

grace, I was giving a co-worker a lift home and she was able to take over

the wheel and drive me to the nearest doctor. I had to be taken out of the

vehicle on a wheelchair. After many tests the doctors concluded I had had a

panic anxiety attack, as by the grace of God nothing was physically wrong

with me.

I was placed on 6 weeks leave. I had no choice then but to rest. I had to lean

on God and his word for healing and restoration of health and re-ordered

priorities. I am still learning today to adopt and maintain this and other healthy

habits – exercise, balanced diet, relaxation and fun. Whenever I forget and neglect

proper rest, I do pay the price.

By choosing to take a day off to rest, we also acknowledge that we are

dependent on God and can depend on God for our strength, and provision.

We need to rest because unlike God, we are not limitless. God says in

Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavily laden, and I will

give you rest.

After all, when do we get to spend time enjoying the works of God’s hands

and our works? We must be satisfied with what we have accomplished and

stop to reflect on the God who gave us the strength and means.

We would do well to disabuse ourselves of the belief that we need to work

seven days a week if we are to make enough money, or to keep up, or catch

up to the ‘Jones’. It is never enough. We never catch up. We have to

decide to do our reasonable best, then rest and trust God to provide for us

so we don’t have to work ourselves into the ground.

Changing bad habits are hard to do and takes lots of work and support.

My upcoming ‘Recharge and Reset’ course is designed to help busy women

to reprogramme and learn how to consistently and sustainably recharge and

reset their lives. Drop me a comment and let me know what you would like to

learn about in my course.

Weekend Reset Tip:

Set boundaries around your weekends and rest times. Have a set bedtime and

stick to it. When you plan your weekend, don’t pack it up with chores and errands.

Plan for relaxation and leisure and lots of rest. Guard your rest time fiercely because

your life actually depends on it.

Thank you for reading once again. I can't express my appreciation enough for

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Sharon Carruthers, the author of the ‘Weekend Reset’ blog is a child of God, wife, mother of 3, a Human Resource Management and Development Consultant, and owner of the firm, ‘Bold Consulting’.  She is sharing from her own experiences for women who are holding back, or living on autopilot; who believe their identities are in others and, or in what they do; or who neglect themselves while sacrificially taking care of others. She hopes that together Christian women can embrace the future with the beautiful hope of transformation one step at a time.