Sabbath Rest and “Good Enough”

I have been tired lately, anyone else?

I love this quote by the poet, David Whyte: “When your eyes are tired the world is tired also. When your vision has gone no part of the world can find you. Time to go into the dark where the night has eyes to recognize its own. There you can be sure you are not beyond love. The dark will be your womb tonight. The night will give you a horizon further than you can see. You must learn one thing. The world was made to be free in. Give up on all other worlds except the one to which you belong. Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet confinement of your aloneness to learn anything or anyone that does not bring you alive is too small for you. ”

Sometimes we all need a break – from the noise of the world, from comparison, from the negative thoughts that float in our heads, from the news headlines, from options, from busyness, from striving to get ahead…

God knew this and that is why Sabbath rest is a theme in scripture. In the creation story the seventh day was a day of rest. Sabbath rest is also mentioned in Hebrews 4:9-11 “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.” If God chose to rest, it might also be a good idea for us- just sayin! 

We as humans have limits. We get exhausted. We sometimes get sick. It is okay to close your eyes and shut out the world for a little bit. It is okay to take breaks. And, I’m not meaning breaks as in more time to watch movies on Amazon Prime or Netflix or play a video game. Those things can be restful -so no judgment from me (I’m loving a show I’m watching on Amazon Prime right now.  Yet, what I mean is… when was the last time you stopped- really stopped – moving – and just sat – maybe watching the sun set or just peacefully rested in that exact moment?

I’m guilty of not stopping until my body makes me- until I am so tired that I just can’t go any more. Many of the ways that I need to stop are mental – I confess that I need to stop worrying, stop thinking, stop planning, preparing, controlling – I just need to S-T-O-P. Many times, that means letting of perfectionism and just being okay with “good enough.”

Okay, that’s all I’m going to write now, I’m going to take a nap. Ha ha. This post is “good enough” isn’t it?  Blessings to you all as you find your own version of “good enough,” as you rest mentally and physically and as you find your own perfectly, imperfect rhythm of rest.