When the elders from church came over last week to pray over my husband Dave, who is also an elder, I was touched that one of them said he was sensing God was telling Dave to rest. Rest is all he’s been able to do for the last six-weeks since severe spinal stenosis, disc bulges, and a cyst on his spine have weakened his legs. The little walking he does with a walker causes pain but sitting and lying relieve the pain somewhat, so he’s definitely been resting. I can’t say the same for myself since I’m the caregiver, but rest is something that’s never come easy for me unless I’m sleeping!
So here we are today celebrating a day that is supposed to be a day of relaxing from work to rest and enjoy. At church a girlfriend mentioned that she wore her white pants because it was almost Labor Day and “You can’t wear white after Labor Day.” I looked at her questioningly since being a native Californian, we wore white pretty much all year, but now that we’re Idahoans, we move from summer pretty quickly into Fall with warmer clothes and packing away our shorts and sandals. I have to admit I hate seeing summer come to an end, but this year the fires and smoke have been so bad in our community, we’re all praying for rain and cooler temperatures.
I’ve always looked at Memorial Day and Labor Day as the bookends of summer. Both are now three-day weekend holidays that also commemorate the end of one school year and the beginning of the next—although today’s schools don’t stick as closely to that schedule anymore.
You have planned Labor Day picnics, family reunions, and barbeques commemorating the official end of summer; but beyond that, few stop to think about why we even have the day off. What is Labor Day anyway?
History of Labor Day
In 1894, Grover Cleveland made Labor Day a federal holiday after a failed attempt to break up a railroad strike. Observed on the first Monday in September, Labor Day pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers. That’s you and me, even those who are retired, have spent a good portion of their life working.
Traditionally, all stores closed on Labor Day so all workers could celebrate the holiday. Today, most stores are having Labor Day sales, and their workforce is hard at work on a day that was supposed to be about resting from work. Many people work on Labor Day without realizing, Hey, I’m a worker that has contributed to my company and I should have a day of rest!
Work and Rest
The article, Labor Day: Your Need for Both Work and Rest by Nick Batzig, recently caught my attention. It opened with this sentence, “As we come to celebrate another Labor Day, it may be beneficial for us to step back for a moment and consider what Scripture has to say about the rhythm of work and rest—i.e. the cyclical configuration by which all the events of our lives occur.”
The article discussed God’s original plan for work and how that all changed when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and why God wants us to have times of rest and refreshment. Batzig listed several changes over the years that have us focusing on work not just as provision for our family, but for prestige, self-esteem, peer pressure, fear, anxiety, and lack of purpose outside of work. The following point really resonated with what I see happening in families today:
“Whereas traditional societies said that you got your meaning in life through your family, and through basically fulfilling a fairly prescribed social role—either as a mother or father, or a brother or sister, or husband or wife, or a son or a daughter…You just needed to find a way to make a living because family was what everything was about. But we’re the first culture in history that says, ‘You define yourself by defining what you want to be and by attaining it—and then you have significance.’ There’s never been more psychological and social and emotional pressure on work to be either fulfilling or at least lucrative. There’s never been a culture like that.”
How Can We Change Culture?
I’ll admit that I’m a recovering workaholic. The only way I’m able to balance work and rest is to prioritize the things that are the most important to me—serving God and my family. My ministry is About His Work Ministries, so I’m fortunate to be able to serve God through my work of writing and speaking, but I also need to take breaks. I schedule times of rest and relaxation with my hubby, and I actually find walking or even going to the gym rejuvenating.
Dave and I also serve in ministry together by leading a couples Bible study in our home which is enjoyable to both of us. When I’m spending time with my family or friends, I set aside “work” and focus on them.
That doesn’t leave much time in my schedule for “extra” activities, and so I’ve had to learn to say no to some good things. Before I say “yes, and find myself with no time to rest and refresh, I’m trying to remember to do two things:
1. Pray and ask God if it’s something He wants me to do.
2. Assess if I have the time and energy to add this activity to my calendar.
If I sense God telling me to go for it, I know I must remove something from my calendar, or I’ll become unbalanced trying to get all the work done and rest and family will suffer.
What do you do to find times of rest and refreshment in a world that values work over rest?
Jesus says, “Come to Me, all of you who work and have heavy loads. I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28
Please leave a comment here and I will reply.
Wonderful blog today, yes REST is so important in our busy lives.
Rest is a word that keeps coming up to me, yet it can be so elusive as you say.