Have you caught up on the rest you’ve desperately needed during your community’s quarantines this past year?
With all the hanging out in our homes and away from our friends and coworkers, you’d think we would just feel so rested and refueled.
But, like everything else that’s happened in 2020, we’ve been left feeling sorely disappointed and far too sleep-deprived.
And I’m not just guesstimating here. There’s research that backs this idea up!
The Better Sleep Council¹ compared their survey results from January 2020, when they conducted their annual sleep study, to the results from a second survey done in March of this year.
In January, 43% of Americans described their sleep as poor or fair. While only three months later, in March, that number actually increased to 52%.
Furthermore, in January, 30% said they regularly felt well-rested upon waking. But in March, that number dropped to 24%.
Just last week my husband and I enjoyed some time away on vacation. We visited with some of our family in Tennessee, as well as North Carolina, and especially enjoyed celebrating our grandson’s second birthday!
But was this time away restful? Not as much as you might think or expect. There’s nothing like sleeping in your own bed!
Still, while on the road and in unscheduled moments, I was able to steal moments away, reading a great book.
That book is Rest Now by Kelly Balarie.
I was really looking forward to this book and Kelly did not disappoint! Her book really helps us to understand how to find and improve our level of rest in life.
But this is not simply about getting into a good sleep pattern or finding sleep-aids that guarantee a restful night’s sleep. This is about pursuing and finding spiritual rest—the most foundational and important of all types of rest.
In Kelly’s book, she devoted the first section to outlining some of the ways we struggle to find rest along with what disrupts it. This really grabbed my attention right at the start.
I also felt like I could relate to Kelly since she is very open and vulnerable in her writing style. She came across like a friend and fellow-sojourner, never sugar-coating her occasional failures or hiding the times when she fell victim to a faulty mindset.
This gave me greater confidence, not less, in her ability to navigate this slippery slope.
Kelly then discussed seven ways we can cultivate a restful attitude in our lives. Some of her ideas include pursuing things like humility, forgiveness, peace, contentment, etc. She also used thought-provoking questions to help the reader consider how to live out each of these character qualities.
Of course, Kelly grounded all of these pursuits and more in Christ, giving us insight into how He enables us to experience the rest we long for in life. I truly appreciated how she used Scripture and a biblical perspective to guide us into this rich and relaxing territory.
The last section of her book took a more in-depth look at boundaries—helping us to understand what they are and aren’t.
We surely can’t find the time or motivation to rest, if we don’t recognize and protect our limits and priorities in life with healthy boundaries. What I found most inspiring in this section was Kelly’s examination of the way Jesus used boundaries in His life and relationships. There’s so much to learn and gain from His amazing and perfectly balanced approach.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Messy Marriage
Featured Image by Sid Leigh on Unsplash
