Ping! Email notifications. Ping! Calendar reminders. Ping! Family duty calls. Ping! Alarm rings! Work beckons! Repeat.
We live in a world where information moves faster than it ever has before. Your niece with a lisp just got married. Nigeria held its elections and the brodas (Nigerian pidgin for brother) were treated to a Nollywood blockbuster. Peter Drury added to his poetic commentary by saying: Jesùs didn’t turn water into wine but he got the cross that put the ball over the line. Your Uncle, the one with the Steve Harvey suits, yes, he moved to Kampala with his cats.
Faster information begets a twin corollary. The first is because we get information faster, it seems as though life itself is happening at a faster rate. Consequently, it seems as though we have more things to attend to against less time with which to attend to them.
All the while, the story of this journey we are on continues to unfold. The years go by. The vicissitudes of life persist. Our bodies take the inevitable wear and tear of mortality. Then that, that insidious yet deeply gnawing question emerges: where did the time go?
We live in a world where rest seems criminal. Your mind guilt trips you at the slightest thought of rest. You are constantly trying to fill up your downtime just so that you have something on your hands. Anything but rest.
Beloved, thou tireth thy soul. We are human beings not machines. Adequate rest is essential for our functioning. Rest is a necessity not a favor.
I once read a quote that stuck with me:
If you do not make time for your wellness, you will be forced to make time for your illness.
Beloved, rest.