One challenge nobody warned me about when I became starry eyed pregnant was how laundry would soon become a stumbling block.  Literally.  I walk by the hallway where our laundry baskets are lined up, and it looks like raccoons got into them.  Two to be exact.  One who just turned five and the other still in diapers acts like he already is.

Some days I just give up.

I’m never caught up anyways.  The weekend comes and my pile has exploded into a mountain slide of socks, jeans and regret.  I only wish I could go outside and play.  Instead, I end up folding bibs, listening to the washer and dryer turn the house into a laundromat.

Stress feels the same. I wake up and stress greets me, just like that pile of laundry.

Sometimes, I walk right by and refuse to acknowledge it’s existence. It can’t touch me.

Eventually, on a random moment, I’ll find myself trapped and surrounded by one anxious thought after another.

A Different Kind Of Stress

Can we ever be free from stress?

Stress seems to be so embedded in our modern lives, we’ve come to breathe it like oxygen.

Emails, Twitter, doctor appointments and a To Do list filled with growing unchecked boxes are all part of my reality.

Is it realistic to expect a stress-free life?

There was a season in my life I got fed up with the speed of everything.  I reduced everything to a minimum.  I did do less.  But pairing down to the bare essentials made me lose a sense of wonder.

Introvert or extrovert, we were never made to only do life as maintenance.  God designed us to be fully alive:  creative, engaged with community and renewed by a sense of adventure.

Without these elements of creativity, community and adventure, we experience a different kind of stress.

Soul stress.

I did make a re-entry into the stream of new endeavors.  It’s felt like stepping into the California rivers for whitewater rafting.  Everything looks calm on the outside, but the underlying currents threaten to pull me under.

Are we left to choose only between inactivity or over-activity?

As people of faith, our focus goes beyond avoiding stress.

We pursue the opposite.

We pursue rest.

Rest As Ambition

Rest. It sounds inactive, doesn’t it?  I was surprised to find that rest is one of only three ambitions God explicitly calls out in the Bible.

Turns out Hesuchazo — the Greek word used for “quiet” and “rest” — is as important as preaching the Gospel and pleasing God.

“…excel still more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet (restful) life…”
~ Thessalonians 4:11

Ten Ways

I was so intrigued by the ambition to rest, I looked up Scriptures using Hescuchazo and categorized them into three buckets:  creativity, adventure and community.

10 Ways To De-Stress & Enjoy Rest

{  Creativity  }

1. Take time out for creative exploration. Engage in activity where you are free to be, without having to be functional or to judge how you are doing.

“For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.” Hebrews 4:10

2. Schedule in Whitespace. Stop from daily routine, chill out… and eat.

“Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) ~ Jesus, Mark 6:31

3. Enjoy sleep, a luxury that burning the candle at both ends fails to afford.

“He enters into peace; They rest in their beds, Each one who walked in his upright way.” Isaiah 57:2

{  Adventure  }

4. Enjoy God in your new endeavors. That’s what Moses insisted.

“My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.” ~ God Ex. 33:14

5. Enjoy the outdoors, soaking up nature. It brings our bodies and senses to rest.

“The whole earth is at rest and is quiet ; They break forth into shouts of joy.” Isaiah 14:7

6. Try a new direction, inspired by God’s goodness rather than fear of the bad. Trust God with the results.

“Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, Where the good way is, and walk in it; And you will find rest for your souls.” ~ God, Jer. 6:16

{  Community  }

7. Enjoy friendships where you can be your real self and laugh.

“Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord ; refresh (rest) my heart in Christ.” ~ Paul, Philemon 1:20

8. Get together with a friend and share the deep things happening in your life.

“I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed (rest) through you.” ~ Paul, Philemon 1:7

9. Enjoy God’s forgiveness in relationships that are difficult. Don’t carry the weight of guilt.

“Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. ” Isaiah 30:15

10. Spend with Jesus. Rest isn’t something we can create. It is a gift Jesus gives.
Then, turn around and offer that rest to others as your gift.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” ~Jesus Matt.11:28

One final rest inducing tip.

Call a friend to come over and fold laundry together (or just gab on the phone).  Brew a cup of coffee or tea. Drink slowly. Enjoy.

~~~~~

Which of the three restful elements are you craving today — creativity, adventure or community?

How do you de-stress?

~~~~~

Written by Bonnie Gray, the Faith Barista, who serves up shots of faith for everyday life.

For more inspiration to kick the stress habit and enjoy more rest, join Bonnie in her March series on her blog —  Whitespace:  Restoring Soul Rest

Photo Courtesy of Photobucket.com, by Madelyn Mulvaney at Persisting Stars.

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