Rest
Your Soul
ȷustbetweenus
winter 2021
The alarm buzzes me awake long before I’m ready to rise. Getting out of bed, I do a Zombie walk to the bathroom. Before I’ve gotten dressed, I worry about a family member’s health, a friend’s grief, and meeting a big goal at work. “Where is the line between concern, worry, and faith?” I ask the Lord as I finish getting ready for the day. The weight of worry makes me feel heavy and tired.
14
We all need times to rest our souls. Spiritual rest can be easy to overlook until we face the burnout of mental, emotional, or physical exhaustion. Before we know it worry, anxiety, anger, frustration, bitterness, unforgiveness, and stress burden our souls and bodies. A rest routine is needed to keep our bodies, souls, and spirits healthy and happy. Different from self-care, soul care restores our spirit, empowering us to experience peace and perseverance when we face challenges—a rest from the pressures. Do you need to find ways to lighten the load of worries and concerns? What is spiritual rest and why is it important?
Understanding spiritual rest and how to get it. by Ginger Harrington Spiritual Rest Versus Self-Care
Practicing spiritual rest or soul rest, helps us bear the weight of life’s challenges. When I’m weary, I often default to self-care rather than making time for soul care. These two concepts often overlap. Self-care has to do with caring for our physical, mental, and emotional needs. Soul care happens when we trust Christ with our needs, relying on His presence and help to sustain us. Here are a few self-care responses I gravitate to: • “I need to get more sleep.” • “If I eat healthier, I’ll have more energy.” • “Lunch with the girls is what I need.” • “I can’t wait to chill out and watch my show on Netflix.” Self-care is necessary and important, but it doesn’t always meet the need of soul care. Soul care brings mental, emotional, and spiritual rest, which is different from physical rest.
