A theme + truth that has been stewing around in my mind and heart lately is how we work from rest not working to rest.
Have you thought of it that way before? In our culture it is really easy to work until we drop. Actually, we get praised for it. If you work 40 hours a week or less, somehow that has turned into the abnormal thing. It has become a habit of many to work 50+ hours a week all in the name of “hustle”. Now, don’t get me wrong here. I am preaching to myself and am currently in the middle of figuring this out. I think people can take this to an extreme either way, working way too little or working way too much. But just like the rest of our life, it’s about balance. And everyones scale for balance is different.
Ultimately it us up to you and God to choose was is best for your daily, weekly and monthly rhythms. God created us and wired each of us differently. It is only you and Him who can decide what looks right for you. But I am here to give you permission to ask the questions. To do your research. To allow yourself to rest. To say you can allow yourself time to “be” in your life and now always just “do”.
Let’s chat about some of the big themes that have been stewing around my mind with this concept.
Adam + Eve’s first full day of life was a day of rest. God created Adam and Eve on the 6th day and on the 7th day God rested (Genesis 1). God created the universe, the animals, the plants, the day, the night…he created and then he rested in His creation. We are all creators, we were made to create. But there is only One who is able to work and then rest.
God created the beginning of the day, our middle of the night, we start each day out of rest. I was listening to The Real Life Podcast by Jeff and Alyssa Bethke the other day and they talked about this. I had never thought about it that way! A new day starts at midnight, when I am fast asleep (and hopefully have been for hours). The day starts in the middle of the dark and we were created to rise as the sun is rising, bringing light as we join the day. How beautiful.
We were created to have a weekly sabbath, starting our week from rest. The seventh is when God rested. The seventh day for him, the first full day for Adam and Eve. Weekly sabbath is something DJ and I are still figuring out. It takes practice and patience and grace for yourself. Everyones sabbath will look differently—no technology, hang with friends, never leave your house, eat dinner in, eat dinner out, sabbath on a Monday, Friday or Sunday….it’s about what makes you feel rested, what works for you and your family, what makes you feel recharged and closer to God.
Last month DJ and I both read To Hell with the Hustle by Jeff Bethke. If any of what I am saying right now is ringing true in your heart, I highly suggest you get that book in your hands. It has sparked conversations and lit a fire in our souls. It is helping us answer the questions our hearts have been asking about what we want to create out life to look like.
My whole adult like has been about hustle. It has been about not ever feeling like “I’ve made it”, but with that confused with what I’m even running after. Can you relate? I believe it’s because we were created for something more. We weren’t created for “the grind”. We are here to work, yes. But for me, somewhere along the line, my life balance scale got skewed and I’m smack dab in the middle of a season of trying to figure out what that looks like for me. When what you DO becomes your identity, that’s when you have a problem (cough, me).
I know I’m not the only one who is feeling the burnout of the hustle life. I know I’m not because of the conversations I have had with many and the wave of books that are coming out of authors feeling the same nudges. But it’s more than a nudge for me right now. It’s a life change. It’s a surrender.
It’s laying it all down at His feet and asking Him what He wants me to do. Asking the questions and allowing myself time, the space and the grace to hear the answer.