Rest…

REST…

What is rest? How do I rest? What am I not supposed to do?

We live in an era in which people take pride in accumulated PTO hours, very little sleep, no days off and pulling 90-plus-hours every pay check. People find their identity and worth in this kind of lifestyle. Some use it as an escape from personal life. Others just don’t know how to stop and say “no more” for now.

I would go as far as to say that people in our generation believe that rest is for the lazy. How can dreams come true if there is rest involved? How do you make it to the peak of your achievement if you take a day off?

As most of you know, my hands are busy and invested in a lot of areas. As “cool” as that may seem to some, it has been hard on me. I sometimes wonder if I am insane. I am always feeling like I can’t do my best in anything, or that I don’t do them well, because no human can do 100% in everything on their own. If you’re one of those people, this might be news to you. You can’t do it 100% ALONE. We weren’t created that way.

So for those who are new around here, I will fill you in on all that I do, just so you can get a full picture.

I am a wife. I am a mother. Okay let’s stop there. Those two roles alone are big ones. Being a wife takes work. Takes sacrifice. Being a mother is one of the hardest jobs on the planet. No joke. You love little humans to the point you would do anything for them and you don’t always get anything in return. Their brains just don’t understand the depth of love, the amount of sacrifice it takes to teach them and the mental toll that takes on we as mothers. But I wouldn’t trade these first two roles for anything.

(TIP: Be sure to take time for YOU so that you can recharge in order to keep doing these roles WELL.)

On top of those roles, I have been a photographer for 12 years. I have built my business in a way that I love and it has allowed me to travel to amazing locations and create work that I am forever proud of. I own two local Albuquerque retail shops. I opened No Longer Wander 4 years ago and 1964 Haus with my bestie 1 year ago. (Yes, we opened a shop in the middle of the pandemic).

Let’s pause. To some, this might all seem doable. I shoot a wedding, I have employees that work the day-to-day at the shops. It seems like a really good thing - and it is! If this is all that I did, I would be able to put so much into my other dreams and passions. BUT, if you have followed me for some time, you would know that my husband lives in chronic all-body-pain (read my blog post ‘Nobody Told Me’ for a vulnerable peek into our lives.) Because of his pain, Matt isn’t able to have a consistent job, because he physically can’t stand or sit for a long enough period of time. Three years ago, I decided to take a Creative Director job at our local church. The job was offered to me unexpectedly. At this same time, Matt stepped away from a job that he loved because of pain that caused him to live laying on our living floor for months and months.

So, as you see, yes I am a multi-business owner working a full-time job in order to ensure that we as a family are taken care of. But let me get to my point about rest.

Rest, in the middle of all of these roles, seems impossible and sometimes I feel like taking time to rest is wasteful, but I know that that isn’t true. The reality is that rest was created by the Creator Himself. He created it and enjoyed it personally. When we truly think about that, that the Creator Himself chose to rest and chose to gift us with rest - knowing that it was so necessary for us that He made it a commandment. Crazy, right? He knew that we as humans would become obsessed with work. We would love our work to the point of idolatry. He knew but He also knows us better than we know ourselves and He knows that we need rest in order to do our work best.

I grew up in church. I heard the commandments often, but never did I put any thought into how vastly importance this one was for our lives. Mind-blowing. I just recently came to this reality and I haven’t stopped thinking about it ever since.

What is rest? How do I rest? What am I not supposed to do? Do I just lay around (oh, please say no)? What is real rest? I don’t have a clear answer, to be honest, but I am choosing to be intentional in figuring out what it means for me and for my life, because I believe that rest looks different for everyone. I personally believe that rest is doing things outside of work (even if you are working your dream job) and doing things that give you life. Maybe it is sleeping in, or meeting a friend for lunch, or going on a hike, or journaling, or gardening, or sitting in a quit corner reading a favorite book… whatever it is, do those things. Whatever gives you life, deep down, do that. BUT, the key puzzle piece for rest is to lean into Jesus. Lean into prayer. Lean into what He has for you and allow Him to fill you up, starting in the depths of your soul so that you can reset for the next day of work!

So here is some homework for you:

Do you think about intentional rest? If not, I encourage you to start today.

There are 7 days in a week, so one of those needs to be a day of rest. That means that for 6 days you can work hard. But find what it is that gives you deep soul and mind rest and choose that over the hustle.

What gives you life? What helps you reset your mind and body?

Remind a friend to rest. Give them permission. We all need it.

Follow along with me on Instagram @latishalyncarlson for more like this.