When I don't know what else to do, I write.
I admit, I'm falling back again to that comfortable rhythmic pattern. Ever have those days when you have a bunch of thoughts, floating like fish, swimming around inside your head, and you just don't know what to do with them? You want to ultimately create something meaningful. But, it's hard to create when you're just exhausted.
Everyone needs their rest. And though, I'm really good at giving this advice to people, it's very hard for me to follow it myself. So often, social media creeps back up on me and I find myself wasting my time away on meaningless thoughts and news feeds that I will probably forget all about tomorrow.
But, writing and resting are two things that will never grow old for me. We all need rest. You need rest. I need rest. We are programmed to rest. We were designed to rest. We were created to rest. God rested.
So, resting and writing- they are my "go-to" relievers when I don't know what else to do but need to do something. They calm me and provide me with a foundational place to grow and to be me.
Some days, I realize that I just need to find a quiet place, away from the typical distractions. Like a coffee shop. As I sip on that strawberry smoothie, I realize for a moment that life has the power to pause. As humans, we can take moments within our day to just stop and rest. In fact, we are commanded to. God's word reminds me that after our Creator finished forming the entire world, he rested. Phew! That must have been quite the task. Just think about it; thinking about forming the stars and the sun. What must that be like?
Yet again, I am reminded to put down my phone, tablet, computer, etc. I am reminded that it's completely normal and healthy to have conversations with people face-to-face instead of always through messaging, text, or email. Life is not the latest snapchat or Instagram feed. It is not about the fictitious world that we so often create through pictures; a false sense of identity that we want the world to view us as.
As I continue on in this journey called life, I am reminded that I crave those intimate relationships that go far beyond the typical "how are you doing?" I don't mean the romantic ones that we so often think of or read in blogs. I mean the ones that genuinely go below the surface and into the deep, murky waters of our lives. We all have those people, or have come across some people at least in our lifetimes, who are honestly wondering how we are doing. You know, the kind of friends that will call you up and just listen on the other end as you cry or talk or laugh.
That's one of the things that I have been truly grateful for this month. Friends who have prayed for me in a voicemail. Friends who give hugs regardless of your day. Friends who smile just because. To me, that is rest.
Just resting in the fact that I am loved in a human way. And because I have experienced that human love, God's love is transmitted through them. And even when I feel like I am far away from God, a moment like this happens that reminds me of just how close I really am, and just how far off my mind really was.
