Could not go to sleep last night, I tossed and turned, the fitted sheet corners popped off. I asked Alexa to play music, to play ocean wave sounds. Thought about getting up. I hate nights like this. Last time I asked Alexa what time it was, it was 5:09 AM. Finally went to sleep and woke up at 10 o’clock. I just can’t function without sleep. I don’t think I’ve really had a restful night of sleep since Chief died. I really think it’s part of being in the widow’s club.

Today’s world seems to be on a “full steam ahead” mode and I can’t keep up. Seems our pace gets faster each year. Everything is bigger and better and faster. I don’t know if anyone knows how to slow down and relax. Some retired folks say they’re busier now than when they worked. One of my friends told me, “I try to keep at least one day a week my PJ Day which means I don’t get dressed all day.” What a great idea! Sometimes it’s okay to do nothing. I think I’m the queen of doing nothing with all my porch swing sitting. Martha Troly-Curtin says, “Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”

America actually has a an official Lazy Day that is celebrated on August 10. Did not know that when I sat down to do nothing today. I think we often find ourselves wishing we had a day designated as a do nothing day. We start out well intentioned but usually aren’t content just sitting around and find something that needs doing. We actually find it hard to do nothing.

Some of us are just wired for working, don’t know how to relax and slow down. Life is at such a fast, plugged in pace we don’t know how to stop and smell the roses. I love that expression but today’s roses don’t have the wonderful perfumes of old roses. Science has forgotten the the roses’ fragrance genes, focusing on them being disease resistant.

Research says being lazy allows the body to rejuvenate and restore energy. We need sleep for improving memory and decreasing stress. Proper sleep decreases inflammation and gives us a great attention span. I’m not a napper so I drag trough the day thinking a cup of coffee will restart my engine. Our modern world doesn’t give us time for rest. When I was a child the stores in town shut their doors at lunch on Wednesdays and were shut all day on Sundays. You forgot something for your Sunday dinner you were out of luck. Now days everything is available on a 24 hour schedule.

Bible scripture talks about the importance of rest, rest for the soul, rest as a blessing. Psalm 4:8, reads “In peace I will lie down and sleep; for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

So many of us struggle with stress, overwhelmed with worry and anxiety. Our lives are out of balance because we have forgotten how to rest. God wants us to take time for worship, take time for prayers, take time for Bible study. He also wants us to put our burdens in his hands and lay our heads down for a peaceful sleep. In Matthew 11:28-30 we read, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

God, himself, rested. We read in Genesis 2:2, “By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.” Jesus talked about us needing rest and invited the weary to come to him for peace. Peaceful rest is a gift and a blessing from God. I think we can find the time to reflect on God, taking a break in our daily schedules, a time to focus on spiritual renewal. We need to step away from our work and hear God’s call.

“Rest when you’re weary. Refresh and renew yourself, your body, your mind, your spirit. Then get back to work.”— Ralph Marston