It's now July, and we are in the heart of summer. For many college students, summer revolves around working. However, when you're young and broke, you're forced to work long hours to pay the bills. Come night time though that doesn't stop you from making your own fun with a few friends. The never-ending possibility of adventure leaves one brimming with excitement after long days working. We live by the work hard play hard mentality with little regard for our health because we know come August our days will be filled with classes, homework, and study sessions.
We have adapted the sleep is for the weak attitude, catching short naps whenever we get the chance. Bags shine under our eyes like campfires in the night, consistent and bright. We're burning the candle at both ends, hoping to scrape by on whatever is left over.
The other day I had the afternoon off from work and was moving into my new apartment. Utterly exhausted at 2 p.m. my stomach started to turn, in my heart and my mind I knew I needed a nap because I was hardly able to function. I set my alarm for 15 minutes. Two hours later I woke up feeling guilty and ashamed. I was ten minutes late picking up my roommate from work, and I had wasted the afternoon sleeping instead of working. That night I crawled into bed tired but filled with a lesson. I have devoted so much of my time and effort to work these past few weeks that I've left myself drained and surely I can’t be the only one who feels this way.
Rarely, if ever, do we stop for a breath of fresh air. As children, summer was a time to recharge and prepare ourselves for the next school year. Now, we refill our bank accounts hoping to make just enough so we can make it through the next nine months working limited hours while taking classes. We seem to be at our best when we’re over booked and overly stressed.
More work, more activities, more classes, more this and more that. Society has taught us that we are only worthy when our schedules are packed to the brim. However, God doesn’t want us to live like this. In fact, he promises us rest if we only go to him. In Matthew chapter 11 verses 28 and 29, He says, “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Here God promises us rest. He knows that at times we devote ourselves to more than we can handle and that’s why he wants us to lean on him. He desires to be our shoulder to cry on and the one who carries us when life gets hard. There is no burden too heavy for the Lord. With his help, we can once again begin practicing the pause, the time in life in which we relax and breathe deeply bringing peace to our souls.
Society’s view of how we should live our lives is ugly and overwhelming. It leaves us trapped, confused, and exhausted. If we revert ourselves back to a more Godly way of living, we can once again find rest and our lives as a whole can change. So let's stop over-committing ourselves and start saying no to some things. Let's start pressing the pause button when we become overwhelmed and get down on our knees to pray, handing our burdens over to the one who created us. By practicing the pause, we can once again return to a happier, more stress-free life. A life in which we have the power to decide what serves us and what doesn't and a life in which we can start enjoying our days again. Let's strive to once again be like a child in the summer time, full of life and love by handing over our burdens and practicing the pause.
