Chapter 16 is titled Take Heed to Yourself and gives me visions of old English that I just can not seem to get the jest of. To throw in a quote from the author, “If we don’t take care of ourselves, we soon won’t be able to take care of whatever flock or responsibility God has given us.” Just as when the airlines tell us to put on our own mask before helping others. This is a topic that I sometimes fail on when I drive the kids to exercise and sit and watch my ipad rather than work out. We have put in a fix for that and I kinda like it.
The goal of the chapter is for us to understand that the greater blessing that comes from us staying healthy longer is the more opportunities we have to bless others. We have all seen people in failing health that need to be taken care of. Its pretty hard for someone isolated in ICU to be a help to others. We are all different and all have different callings and different paths. My mom did lots of great work in her community and I know God took her home when He was ready, but from a practical worldly view, if she had taken better care of herself, she could still be helping others.
The author again addresses fatigue as counterproductive and decreases our efficiency, shortens our tempers, stresses our schedules, makes work harder, and can negatively impact our health. Our drive to be productive does not require “hyperkinetic frenzy” as he calls it.
My mentor today told me that maybe my new pastime simply needs to be spending more time listening for the call of God. Implying that I was so busy checking the boxes on my new system that I was not going slow enough to get the benefit. I am sure he is right. It is why I picked him to be my mentor. Now I just have to make myself stop long enough to let that happen. Everyday. Stillness, solitude, quiet, rest, thinking, and relaxation are all great ideas, but I never thought how to actually apply them to myself.
The author gives more detail about what rest means and how it makes us stronger both physically and spiritually. My daughter told me something she read about getting too much sleep that counters the author’s statement about not setting an alarm. I like to wake without an alarm, but I often find myself not actually getting up and going back to sleep. Probably why I do better when I have something to accomplish each day.
In my study of Job, I recently talked about the feasts that his sons held, and the author here refers to Jewish feasts as times of not working. It sounds kind of like what we call holidays where we both enjoy the meal but refrain from work rather than as just a party. Probably makes it less likely that his kids had a feast every night and it was more of a holiday gathering they were having. The underlying lesson is that the drive to work more can come from the fear of a lack of provision and that resting is an act of worship recognizing our reliance upon God for all provision and not upon only ourselves and the work we do.
The author implores us to learn what types of rest we each need in our own lives and does not give a formula. He quotes Dr. J. Oswald Sanders text “A Spiritual Clinic” which highlights the need to “resolutely refuse more than we can discharge well and without undue strain.” It is a great piece and worth reading in its entirety. I summarize as if you cannot do it well or it causes too much strain, find another way.
Just as each person has to develop a nutrition plan and an exercise plan that fit them, we also must develop a rest plan that works for us. God wants us to use the minutes and to be productive, but we must have rest. We must maintain His temple that is our body, and we therefore must rest. Practice and find that special formula that God has for you. Rest your body and your weary soul.