Where has the time gone!? It has been a month since my last post. This was an intentional effort to set forth a time of rest for my family. It was a time where we could finish up loose ends in order to spend time more together. It was a month where we said “no” to things in order to say “yes” to family time.

In this crazy, busy, and hectic world, our success is measured by our busyness rather than the quality of our relationships. We fill our calendars with endless events and activities only to make quick appearances in order to get to the next event. The days, weeks, and months fly by and we reflect back only to wonder what we did.

Arguably one of the most successful entrepreneurs of our day is Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, Tesla, and Solar City. This is a man who has changed the automobile industry, the space industry, and even impacted our electric grid. It is hard to talk to a millennial who does not respect Musk and all that he has accomplished. However, this has not come without a cost. In an interview in September 2015, Musk admitted that within a twelve year period, he only attempted to take a vacation one time.

I have found this to be a continual struggle for me as well. Not necessarily struggling to find time for a vacation, but struggling with the idea of rest. When I look at an empty day on the calendar, a sense of disappointment sets in. I feel like I did not do enough, or I that I am letting someone down. I feel as if my pride is being shot. My mind continually thinks, “There must be something I can do other than simply rest!”

However, the Bible makes it clear that there are times when God wants us to rest.

Leviticus 23:3 says, “Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places.”

From the beginning of creation (Genesis 1-2), God established this rhythm of rest. He did so by creating the world in six days only to take the seventh day for rest (Genesis 2:1-3).

Even Jesus would find times for rest. Immediately following the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus dismissed the crowd, placed the disciples on a boat, and went to a mountain alone to pray (Mark 6:45-46).

If the God of the universe found time to rest, then it must be important.

Over the coming years I want to challenge myself to uphold this rhythm of rest. Rest does not mean sitting idle, but a time of calmness and peace. It is a time to enjoy the family around us, and is especially a  time to be refreshed by our Heavenly Father.

How can we establish rhythms of rest? For me, it is following the 6:1 pattern.

6 days of work, 1 day of rest.

6 weeks of hard work, 1 week of reprieve.

6 months of focused work, 1 month filled with extra family time.

By no means am I perfect at this, but it is something worth striving for! Will you join me?