Rest is essential to any journey.  When, how, and how much we rest determines what our journey will look and feel like. For any given person, rest looks like a set number of hours of sleep at night, perhaps some vacation/relaxation time, and hopefully, for believers, a regularly practiced sabbath. For those of us with illnesses, though, rest often looks entirely different. 

As we go on this journey, we discover that we have different needs and requirements than the ones around us. Often we go through a grieving process as we come to acknowledge that we cannot do what we used to do. Many of us experience FOMO (fear of missing out) when we realize that our bodies simply can’t keep up with our friends or families. When you’ve been on this journey long enough, you understand what planning your week around energy looks like. You will also know what it feels like to have to sacrifice feeling well for attending an event or activity, or vice versa. 

It’s almost like rest can become almost an annoyance to us on this journey. If we don’t rest, our bodies will make us rest in the form of pain, fatigue, or flares of other symptoms. Yet at the same time, it can seem like we rest too much; causing us to feel unproductive or lazy. Sometimes we avoid rest because we want to at least feel some normal semblance of life. Sometimes busyness makes us feel more in control of our bodies. But the truth of the matter is, if our bodies are in active battle all of the time, they need to be able to settle and recover. Often our pain and nerve receptors are misfiring and overstimulated. Rest is how we overcome what is happening in our bodies and exert power over our illnesses.

On top of our bodies telling us to rest, God calls us to rest. He wants us to rest physically, mentally, and spiritually in Him. He wants us to rest in His goodness. He wants us to trust that we - and our to-do lists, and our families, and our upcoming events - will be taken care of in that rest. In our rest, we have the space to identify His priorities for us. What’s more, is that we can show God we are good stewards over our bodies by being able to identify our body’s needs and act accordingly. 

There are many complex emotions and thoughts that can arise when we begin to force ourselves to rest. This journey with chronic illnesses requires that we address them so that we can understand both our needs and how we need God to help us. Find the rest you and your body need, and take great comfort in knowing God is in it. 

I’m so grateful that you have continued to join me on this journey. We are now more than halfway there. Please join me tomorrow as we press forward. And don’t forget, there is a big announcement coming on our last day!