{"id":19135,"date":"2022-08-01T07:57:50","date_gmt":"2022-08-01T12:57:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/openbiblemessage.org\/?p=19135"},"modified":"2022-07-21T12:23:40","modified_gmt":"2022-07-21T17:23:40","slug":"take-a-nap-child","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/openbiblemessage.org\/es\/2022\/08\/take-a-nap-child\/","title":{"rendered":"Take a Nap, Child"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
By Andrea Johnson<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Whoever can spin the most plates at once wins, right? The busier a person\u2019s schedule is, the more important we assume they are. Even as Christians, we sometimes think that the fuller our schedule is, the more the Lord is pleased with us. We wouldn\u2019t come right out and say it, but our actions prove otherwise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is an old saying, \u201cI would rather burn out than rust out,\u201d as if those were the only two options. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Obviously, we don\u2019t want to be lazy, and we don\u2019t want our lives to be measured by time spent on social media. But we also don\u2019t want to be so busy that we can\u2019t help our neighbor if his basement floods, or chat with the store clerk who suddenly finds herself a widow, or bake cookies with our kids. And we don\u2019t need to be so stressed that any last-minute change to our schedule sends us into a tizzy. Too much is too much, even when it comes to \u201cministry.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A few years back I talked to a young mom who felt guilty she wasn\u2019t a better mother and employee. I asked her how much sleep she had gotten the night before, and it wasn\u2019t much. I asked her how much time she had spent that day on herself. None. So why did she feel guilty? She felt she wasn\u2019t giving enough time to her kids or to her employer \u2013 even though she was giving all she had! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Obviously, we don\u2019t want to be lazy, and we don\u2019t want our lives to be measured by time spent on social media. But we also don\u2019t want to be so busy that we can\u2019t help our neighbor if his basement floods, or chat with the store clerk who suddenly finds herself a widow . . . .<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Where in the Bible does it say that a person must work themselves to exhaustion? What about verses such as Psalm 127:2 (NLT)? \u201cIt is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.\u201d Rest is a gift \u2013 from God! He commands it! \u201cSix days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work\u201d (Deuteronomy 5:13-14). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We want to be good employees, but there is a difference between being good employees and being enslaved. We don\u2019t need to work our fingers to the bone to \u201cprove\u201d ourselves to others or to God or to get more stuff our children will one day have to discard or try to sell. People we now see hobbling down the halls of nursing homes were themselves once busy, important people. Now they are fortunate if someone visits them once a week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We want to be good parents, but honestly, once a child passes infancy, they don\u2019t need our attention 24\/7. We are responsible to make sure they are loved and well cared for, but that doesn\u2019t mean they (and we) must be involved in every activity that calls to them. Most children don\u2019t need to join all the traveling teams performing every weekend. They may enjoy their activities more if those activities don\u2019t suck up every free moment of their days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this season of life as an empty nester, I have the time to pray for extended time periods. But what about when I had children at home? Did God love me less because I wasn\u2019t spending \u201cenough\u201d time with Him? Did He resent the fact that I was taking care of my children or working so that we had the things we needed? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s important that we carve out time to spend with the Lord, but that doesn\u2019t have to look the same as everyone else\u2019s time with the Lord, especially when we are in a difficult season of life. One time I was so stressed that I came into my prayer time too distraught to listen or even talk. As I knelt by a bench, I lay my head on it and asked the Lord, \u201cCan I just BE with You?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was one of the sweetest times of \u201cprayer\u201d I ever had. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What if we budgeted our money the way we budget our time? Would we be spending it wisely or would we be bankrupt? We are given a limited number of hours in a day. We simply do not have enough of those hours to say yes to everything asked of us. If we dole out too many yeses, we end up disappointing someone who thought they could count on us, or we shortchange ourselves. The things we say yes to should not come at the expense of much needed rest. A friend once said, \u201cIf God says no to something, it means we don\u2019t need it.\u201d If we don\u2019t have enough money, we don\u2019t buy stuff. If we don\u2019t have enough time, we say no! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anyone with young children knows there are times when their behavior is signaling a desperate need for a nap. Often the same could be said for us. Sometimes the kindest thing you can do for your loved ones is to go take a nap, reset. As you drift off to sleep, thank the Lord for rest.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
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