Rest: When Days “Off” Look Just like Your Days “On”…

Spring break was finally here. We had looked forward to it for weeks–thinking how restful it was going to be to have a week at home with no agenda. We had planned for lots of napping, catching up on “housey” projects, and just enjoying the nothingness.

But on the first morning of spring break, I sat there in tears because it didn’t feel restful or refreshing at all. And I caved. I caved to a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad attitude.

It’s hard when nothing changes about my “off” days—meals still need to be cooked, little people cared for, dishes done, toys tidied, laundry folded, etc. My home and my people are my job. And they’re always here—always needing that corrective word or gentle encouragement. Always asking questions.. Always needing some sort of attention. So it keeps me asking. “How can I rest in all of this?”  Where is rest when my “off” days look exactly like my “on” days—Jesus, teach me.

My tendency is to cave to grumbling and self-pity. To scornfully look at my husband while he plays outside with the kids and think, “Must be nice to have some time off…” All while I sit at the kitchen table desperately trying to find a few quiet moments…but I can’t focus under the sink full of dishes, sticky floors, strewn toys, the crock pot that needs to be filled for dinner, sheets that got peed on and need to be washed, etc., etc., etc.  The work never ends. When your workplace also happens to be your place of rest, it can be really hard to do just that…rest.

It’s easy to crawl inside my own head and be bitter. It’s easy to whine and complain. It’s easy to walk through the day resentful, sullen, and ultimately sabotaging myself by ruining my day and everyone else’s day (ever heard the saying “If Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy”?).  Yep, these things are easy.

But Jesus hasn’t called us to easy. He’s called us to holy. 

He has called us to join with Him in whatever He’s doing in that very moment. He is using each circumstance to shape us (even the milk that just spilled for the third time this morning). He has called us to trust that He loves us and He sees us. He knows we need rest, mamas. He made us to need rest so that we would never forget our dependence on Him. We have to fall onto Jesus and find rest for our souls—which surpasses any bodily rest we can ever know. Because the truth is, we can have a true day off, with no demands or responsibilities calling for us, but if we are not finding our ultimate rest in the goodness of the Lord Jesus—we will still be tired and frustrated (ask me how I know).

Ultimate rest is dwelling in Jesus. Crying to Him when we feel overwhelmed. Singing to Him when we feel frustrated. Whispering a hundred breathless prayers for His help. Ultimate rest is believing that Jesus really meant it when he said, “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

Yes, we need physical rest, too. God built the rhythm of rest into his commandments for the people of Israel, and we are wise to consider our limitations and our need for refreshment. So the question is: How can we build rhythms of rest into our weeks? How can we make space for resting in Jesus when our days look pretty much the same every single day? I’m not an expert, and honestly this post was birthed out of many days when I did not do this well. So, hear me when I say, I’m in this with you.

Nevertheless, God is (slowly) growing me in this area. Here are some practical ways I’m trying to find rest, both physically and spiritually.

How do you find rest during the busy mothering season?