“…once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act.”
~Proverbs 24:12



Tuesday, May 29, 2012

A Type A's 4-Letter Word

Get on the computer and do marketing contract work. Water the garden. Organize the playroom. Take the kids to the pool. Work on my "tough calling" project. Organize the playroom. Read more on church planting. Help D work on vision-casting. Organize the playroom. Do some writing. Organize the playroom. Organize the playroom.

Sometimes life can be a long list of to-do items. Even the playful things become actions to check off a list. Fellow high-strung Type As will know what I'm taking about. More qualitative evidence in support of the research that shows we are more likely to have a coronary episode.

Yet we continue on this pace until life gives us an ugly slap in the face, leaving us with no choice but to slow down.

Unless...

Unless we make a conscious effort to make R-E-S-T a requirement.

For some of us, we may have to physically write it down in our day planners. "Do Nothing Today." "Take a Break." "Just Hang Out with the Kiddos."

Other times, we'll notice that the crazy pace we have become used to is slowly catching up to our over-stimulated children. We take a rest for their good.

Other times our awesome spouses will make the suggestion. For our own good.

Either way, we have to face our 4-letter word. Put off work for another day. Web sites can be updated later. Research can be done tomorrow. Playdates can be rescheduled.

Clear your schedule. Go with the flow. Stop to enjoy the sunshine, your kids laughter, the Word of God, a hot cup of coffee.

It'll be better if we make rest a requiement, before life gives us no other option.

4 comments:

Kat said...

86 visits today already! Thank you! ...but no comments. Readers, I would love to hear from you! How do you make rest a priority?

Ber Bolton said...

Kat, as a fellow type A/work-a-holic type, I find, if possible, it's best to actually leave the house...even if it's just a night away at a nearby hotel/bed & breakfast or a friend's house to get some R&R. If I'm at home, I always find something to do but can't if I'm far, far away!

Krista Phillips said...

Oh I do make rest a priority... I'm not sure the definition of type A but I am NOT IT. I'm a prioritizer. I do the most important things, and everything else tends to fizzle. It's why my house will NEVER EVER be picture perfect and clean like yours (and don't you say yours is not... because if you would walk into mine on any given day, I could totally change your mind! HA!) But one thing I've always done is tried to make "taking a break" a priority. When I don't, I can feel it like crazy. It's not beating myself up over taking those breaks that I'm still trying to figure out.

Kat said...

I love it ladies! Getting away, though it's usually just a 1.5 hr trip to a coffee shop is just what I need as well, Ber. And Krista, I would image as the number of children you have increases, so doses the clutter. But the importance of a clean house becomes less important when you have more mouths to make smile, feet to make dance and memories to create and store!

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