Slow Down and Rest

As a chaplain at Centenary College, I learned about the reality of sleep deprivation. This is one of the most prevalent problems on college campuses. Young adults keep going and going without getting the proper rest their body needs. They think of themselves as the Energizer Bunny (some of you remember that long running commercial). Then it happens. They become ill or even worse they crash. Before the crash though, their grades and relationships begin to suffer because of fatigue--physical fatigue.

It also happens in other age groups of people. The single parent who is working while making as much of life for their kids as possible--In some cases trying to make too much life. These folks are up at the break of dawn getting ready only to finally fall exhausted into bed at midnight only to find that the time to get up has arrived again.

Or the one whose work is not what it ought to be. Work takes all of their life. There is little time left for leisure or for family. This person is climbing the ladder of success--the corporate world or building their own business. The cost of doing this is more than they realize in terms of the carnage left behind them--failed marriages, failed relationships. The ladder is leaned up against the wrong wall.

Now do not think that I am advocating a life of laziness or lacking a work ethic. I am not. However, I think that if the God Almighty rested on the seventh day, it is a sign that we should as well. And, if the Lord God Almighty took six days to do what the Lord God Almighty could have done in a split second, then maybe that says something to us.

Life is not a sprint. It is a marathon. Pace yourself. Slow down. Take time to take care of your body. Take time to build relationships. In doing this you will be able to sort out the gold and the sand of life. You will learn what in the store of life is the cheap stuff and what is the most valuable. You will learn to spend you time doing the things that matter rather than being overwhelmed and exhausted.

One of the reminders I use in my life's journeys is school zones. If you speed through a school zone, the fines are really harsh as they should be. So I look for school zones as I am driving. When driving through a school zone, I offer prayers for students, teachers, and families. Then as I am leaving the zone, I ask myself, "Where in my life do I need to slow down?" And I really try to listen.

When my life is over, whatever day it is, I want to have used all of that which God has given me. However, as I go through this life, Lord, help me slow down. Help me to rest. Let me use all of this precious time on earth as You would have do.