What a year! Am I right???
You’ll have to forgive me—I simply don’t know how else to start this post. I’m sitting here, having coffee as the lights of my Christmas tree radiate the dark room. The sun still hasn’t come up. I’m awake, partially due to the curse/blessing of being a morning person, but also because we live with a dog that specifically requires a potty break and his breakfast at 5:30a.m. sharp.
These mornings give me an opportunity to slow down a little and reflect on this year and what has happened and what will happen in the future. This year was a lot. I think we can all agree that this year has shook us in one varying degree or another.
This year feels different, and not just because we’re in the midst of a global pandemic and don’t know what to do with ourselves. This year, I find myself craving a break. A break from the norm. A break from work. A break from the day to day—probably more so than ever. The onset of the pandemic has completely turned our lives upside down, which is why I’m intentionally creating the space in my life for rest. Real, true, deep rest on the soul level that my body needs to be the best person I can be in 2021. I’ll be honest—I’m tired, mentally, emotionally, physically tired. This year has been a rollercoaster—ups, downs, curves, flips, all while going what seems to feel like 85mph on a track that we can barely see in front of us. So, I need it. I need it for me. I need it for my wife. I need it for my family. I need it for my work. I think a lot of people confuse rest with laziness, but I find that it’s completely the opposite. We’ve turned into a society that thrives on fast-paced workaholism, but it only leads to burn out in the end. My work has always been extremely important to me, so much so that I’ve always struggled separating it from my personal life, but my family is number one. Always has been, always will be. What we must do is figure out what is non-negotiable in our lives—the things that are crucial to who we are and what define us. For me, it’s my faith, wife, and family. In order to give my very best, I have to choose to make rest a priority. Rest is an essential component to productivity. This Christmas, what I”m craving most is spending time with people I love the most. I’m craving time doing the things that fill me up and give me life. These are the things that will carry me into 2021 able to do the things I need to do.
So, I’m getting off the ride. I’m stepping off of the roller coaster. I’m not going to flip and turn and spin. I’m going to rest. My body needs it and maybe yours does too. I know the world says something different, but I believe there is much value in choosing to rest. Choosing rest doesn’t make us stagnant. Rest allows us the opportunity to move us from what we’ve done to what is yet to come in our lives.
I hope this holiday season finds you on the receiving end of what you need most, whatever that may be. Our well being shouldn’t be contingent upon the opinions of those around us or how our choices may appear to others. When we settle ourselves on the shoulders of other’s expectations, we begin to sacrifice our own needs. So, this Christmas, I hope you take time to take in what’s around you, to choose to remember the good this year, and learn from the bad as we look ahead to 2021.
Trey Schruff 