The Cozy Season

This post was written by my friend, Danielle Roberts. Danielle and I knew each other back in high school, and recently reconnected after discovering that we had attended the same church for a while, just at different services. Danielle is a wife and mom of 4. She helps burntout mom business owners make room for rest through productivity. She is the host of the podcast Created for This and author of the Christian devotional of the same name. She and her family love to travel, be outdoors in beautiful Wisconsin, and curl up with a good book. You can connect with her on Instagram @danielle.m.roberts.

By the way, I wrote an article for Danielle’s website earlier this year! You can read my article, Transformation from Post-partum Depression and Anxiety, by following this link.

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You grab your keys and rush out the door, praying traffic is decent so you’re not late as you hustle to the next thing in your probably too-full schedule. Burnout lurks around the proverbial corner. ‘Tis the season. But, is this the way it should be? There’s a better, more biblical way to live your life in this season and forever.

Falling leaves, crisp mornings, warm drinks, and extra blankets on beds. It’s the cozy season–

Fall. It’s the perfect season to introduce and emphasize rest in your schedule. Not just sleep, but activities that bring real, effective rest. As you head into the Fall season, be intentional about making room for the spiritual discipline of rest.

Time to rest is a gift and a pattern that God gave the Israelites in Exodus 16. They’d come out of slavery, and he gave them a day to relax and enjoy the down time. They didn’t even have to go out to gather food, he gave that to them in advance. They simply were able to relax and rest on the seventh day, after working for six days, modeling it after God’s own rest in Genesis 1-2.

Jesus, following Jewish tradition, continued the pattern of rest given by God, worshiping in the temple and taking a day of rest on the seventh day. In the Bible, they had celebrations on their Sabbath, so they were not only taking off to relax, they celebrated what God had done too. Additionally, Jesus was intentional with rest, as it says in Matthew 14:13 and Luke 5:15 that Jesus drew away by himself to pray and rest. He was a gracious healer and teacher, and yet, he still took time away to refuel himself for his work. When you follow Jesus, you pattern yourself after his actions. By embracing patterns of rest, you do that.

Even though I’d grown up reading the Bible and hearing the commandment to rest, it wasn’t until I burnt out that I discovered the importance of rest. Rest that is not sleeping, but instead, activities that rejuvenate, refresh, renew, or cause you to rejoice. I became exhausted and had decision fatigue. I couldn’t function at my best and highest capacity anymore. That’s what burnout does, and rest prevents, or curtails burnout. 

If you’re already feeling burnt out (or on your way there) and you’re seeing the consequences of this lifestyle, there’s hope! 

Advantages of slowing down and resting:

• Less stress and anxiety
• A boost to your immune system
• Weight loss
• A reset for your brain and cognition
• Rejuvenation for your body and mind
• Following God’s pattern and design

Slowing down is a habit that takes time to build, but it’s not impossible, and it does get easier. Start small and look for ways that you can add an evening off to do something you love or something that brings you joy. Audit your time – do you need to add in a habitual practice of rest each week? Or maybe you need to eliminate something in your schedule to make room to relax.

One way that we have created this habit in our own schedule is to take off Sunday from work and unnecessary obligations. We strive to have down time so we can rest and fuel our week. We’ll take naps, be together as a family, or curl up with a good book or football game.* 

*A note of caution however when it comes to technology. Technology is not usually restful. It can create cortisol (stress hormone) spikes as you get worked up over a football game, combat comparison we get from looking at social media, or battle it out with a digital opponent. My recommendation is to find more relaxing ways to rest than by using technology. 

Implementing this rhythm of rest has allowed us to enjoy what we’ve accomplished throughout the week. We feel better knowing that we’ve done our best to steward what God’s given us as we follow his plan for the weekly schedule. Having that weekly day of rest also allows us to enjoy our family, as we are often running in multiple directions at one time. It is one of the best things we’ve done as a family and I know it can positively impact you too.

Take advantage of the cozy season. Take advantage of the time you have to rest and do activities that rejuvenate you. Create that space for rest and embrace it with gratitude. Enjoy the gift from God.

If you’re looking for different ways to rest, download my resource, 5 Ways to Rest. It will help you consider what rest looks like in your own life and how to incorporate it in new and reviving ways.

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Photo: Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash