Spring Break is finally here!  I don’t know about you, but after a hectic week of midterms and being in East Lansing way too long, I am thrilled to be back in the U.P where we have tons of snow.  I’m looking forward to skiing throughout the week, reading a good book by the fire, and eating my Mom’s amazing food.  And resting.

Like many of you, and many Americans in general, I  sleeping in and resting with laziness and sloth.  I like to be busy and moving around doing something productive and active all the time.  And this is normal and expected for Americans and by individual families.  Productivity is the name of the game.  But are we missing something in our busy-ness?  Is this what life is all about?

Rest is mentioned many times in the Bible.  In Genesis, God makes the Sabbath on the seventh day for rest, and not only did he do that for us, but He Himself rested.  Obviously, if God rested, maybe we should too.  Jesus highlights this in Mark 2: 27 saying, “Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”  God gave this day for us as a gift, allowing us to be rejuvenated and restored in Him.

Psalms 23 also highlights rest:

“He makes me lie down in green pastures,

He leads me besides quiet waters,

He restores my soul.” (Psalm 23:2-3)

The Lord makes us lie down.  He orders us to take a break, find a nice field and pretty lake, and let Him do His work in restoring us.  We don’t have to do anything.  For me, this is hard, especially in a society that almost idolizes work.  But it’s so important to get restored, re-energized, and renewed.  Hopefully my Spring Break will be like that and I hope you will take the time to rest and get restored on yours too.

However, this concept of rest should not be confined to university breaks and weekends.  It’s important to have some time to yourself for renewal multiple times a week, if not every day.  Just going on a leisurely walk, fiddling around on an instrument, or reading a book that has absolutely nothing to do with work are perhaps some ways to stay sane.  There is no harm in taking a break.  God’s promise of renewal is one to cash in on no matter how busy life gets.