For a few hours every Monday I get some time to myself. My husband takes our younger children to their home-school group classes and I have some quiet alone time. The rest of our family know it’s Mum’s time and usually give me some space without too much persuasion.
Those few hours are my time to rest, relax, reflect and recharge. It may not seem a lot, but it does what I need it to do – it helps me to breathe, connect more closely with Jesus, de-stress and get perspective.
My Monday time enables me to:
Rest – without it we can get grumpy, short tempered, impatient and unhealthy. Rest is vital and powerful to our whole wellbeing. In my Mondays time I often just sleep or lie down for an hour if I need it, and my whole being thanks me for it. God says to “be still and know that He is God” (Psalm 46:10), which is good advice because true rest is being still and ceasing from our labours for a while. Work hard, and take time to enjoy life, but also take time to rest.
Relax – Many dominant, goal oriented personalities can find it difficult to relax and even feel guilty about doing so. However regular rest and relaxation will make us more productive and able to reach more goals. Taking time out to relax leads to better health, productivity, creativity, and enables us to deal with challenges in daily life with a more positive outlook. We will have the strength to run the distance instead of burning out at the half way mark in the journey.
It may be choosing to watch a movie, read a book, get outdoors, or give time to an old hobby or trying a new one. Whatever we choose, the point is to take the time for our selves and to relax.
Reflect – As a wife, mother of six, and pastor of a church family I am constantly surrounded by other people, which I love. However I know that I need to regularly have times of reflection. To self-reflect how my own internal world is going; to examine my heart, motives, progress on my goals and God given purpose, and whether I am being the person God made me to be, and somebody I can respect. Essentially I do a self-check up, and chat to God about it, and listen to His wisdom and advice on anything I might need to let go of, change, or work on with Him.
Recharge – My Monday’s is where I get some of my recharge time in addition to my regular daily quiet times in the mornings. I love the quiet I get for a few hours and the time I spend with Jesus re-energises my spirit and restores my soul. It’s like powering up as I purposing spend time in God’s word, listen to music, journal, draw, and off load any burdens, concerns and any niggling irritations in my life. I cast all my burdens in the care bucket, and give them to Jesus (1 Peter 5:7).
Recharging prospers my soul and enables me to have the energy for other things that “feed” into who I am. For me that’s being creative in writing, art, and taking time out to exercise. Without my times of recharging I know I wouldn’t have the energy and mental reserves to pursue anything apart from what is absolutely necessary to get through the day, which is how we can end up in an unhappy, unhealthy rut.
Today think about and plan to take some time for yourself, even if just for a few hours each week. It’s important and will enable you to rest, relax, reflect and recharge so that you can keep running your race well.
Prayer: Lord help me to take the time to rest and re-energise so that I can be all that you made me to be. It’s so easy to get out of balance so please give me the wisdom to make regular time with you, and for myself. In Jesus name Amen.