Rest is a Gift:
Have You Unwrapped It?

By Dennis Enix, Executive Director, Clark County Branch

Employers and educators know that rested workers and students are more productive. So with my allotted vacation days and the start of the kids’ summer break, my family and I just returned from a week at the beach. I did a lot of thinking before and during our vacation of what I hoped to accomplish during the week. Certainly good family time was at the top of the list, but a very close second was this longing for quality rest and relaxation.

Before I left, a member here at the YMCA was talking about being on vacation the same week.  I asked, as we all do, where she was going.  She replied with emphasis, “Nowhere!”  As I packed and planned, drove 24 hours round trip, crammed each day with excursions to the beach, pool, restaurants, and souvenir shops, this simplicity sounded just as freeing and relaxing as sand in my shorts. I heard a statistic that vacationing families will often spend 5 to15 percent of their yearly income on their special week searching for the Holy Grail of rest and down time. Well, the tans are fading and we are now firmly back into our busy routines. Do we really need to get away to find rest?

Our bodies and minds are created to function better with proper rest and quality down time. Sabbath rest is the act of taking time out of our busy weekly schedules to quiet ourselves and reflect.  Though important as well, this is not sleep but rather rest with our eyes and minds wide open. Tucked into the Ten Commandments at number four is Sabbath rest. Often this commandment is the most overlooked of all ten.  Why is it even in there? 

I wonder if the commandments are prioritized by importance.  The first three commandments rightfully put God in a place of honor, and then after Sabbath rest come relationship to parents, and avoiding murder, adultery, stealing, lying, and coveting. I do believe it is perfectly placed as an extension of giving God a rightful place in our lives. And one would also have to wonder that if we all spent more time in quiet rest and reflection if there would be less murder, lying, stealing, adultery and more contentment and better family relationships. We are wired for this type of rest.  God is continually trying to lead and direct us all, yet we often are drowning Him out with constant noise and motion.

Think about our transition from an agricultural society to an industrial society. Early farmers may have spent more than 10 hours in the fields a day alone with their thoughts. No ipods, no cell phones…no television, glamour magazines, mystery or romance novels. All of the things that we today consider necessities were nonexistent. They would have had lots of time alone with their thoughts, time to process how to better their relationships, time to figure creative and innovative ways to solve problems, prayer time, and time to sing songs that came to mind rather than ones that came on the radio.

Your body needs proper rest just as much as it needs proper nutrition and water to be truly healthy. There are numerous health risks associated with stress and lack of rest: hypertension, high blood pressure, ulcers, acid reflux, metabolism and hormonal imbalances, depression, suicide, digestive problems, heart disease, autoimmune diseases, skin conditions, and work and driving accidents.

So what can we do to quiet ourselves? Try driving in the car without the radio on or the cell phone in your ear. Take walks regularly. Lie in the bed a few minutes after waking up fully, or go to bed few minutes early with the light on and no book in hand. Fish. Hunt. Golf. Find those activities or places that quiet your soul, and invest some time into giving thought to your relationships, dreams, goals, and healthy lives.

This magnificent planet Earth is traveling through space at the speed of 67,000 miles an hour around the sun.  In our busy lives, it seems like we are trying constantly to keep up.  For your health’s sake and the sake of your family and co-workers, please deliberately create habits of proper sleep and restful time. It will pay great life and health dividends.