Finding Rest in the Small Things

Activity is often unrelated to productivity and busyness rarely takes care of business-Gary Keller

Today was Sunday. The Sabbath. A day of rest. These days, rest for me isn't laying around watching endless hours of my favorite show, nor is it napping most of the day to catch up on sleep. For me rest is a break from the day to day routine and a time to help myself feel caught up for the week ahead. It’s a day of personal refreshing so that I can pour into the lives of others, my husband, kids, clients and friends. The weeks seem busy, well full, as I like to call it. It’s a constant giving out to people and I find it hard to be an inspiration to others when I don’t take time to rest.

So here’s how today and most typical Sundays start out for me.

Wake up too late because I went to bed too late and refuse to get less than 7 hours of sleep on a weekend. It just seems wrong.

Get myself dressed for church before I get our youngest dressed because, let’s face it, once the kids are up and around time to get myself put together has ended.

Head downstairs for breakfast, which my husband has graciously made for me and our oldest, after getting him and the 3 year old dressed and ready to go.

Grab my iced coffee mixed with a scoop of protein powder, which my good friend refers to as her “wake up juice” and head out the door, in the truck for church.

I like going to church. It always leaves me feeling a mix of refreshed and challenged. There’s just so much about Jesus’ life and the way he was with people that make me want to be more like that. But if I think about all the ways in which I come up short daily to live up to Jesus’ life, I begin to feel overwhelmed more than anything. Where do I begin to live the grand life He did when my life seems small at times? How do all the small things even add up to big things? 

I heard a quote today by Winston Churchill-“Character may be manifested in the great moments but it is made in the small ones.” I’d like to think that the small things do matter, so today I started with One Small Thing.

In an effort to alleviate some of the frustration of trying to be the best stay at home mom half the day and working mom the other half, I decided to spend some time in the kitchen this afternoon preparing this week’s meals. Now, you should know that I don’t claim to like cooking. I’ll bake all day long, cookies, cakes, brownies. But cooking is a chore to me. Making dinner before I leave for work in the afternoon feels like just another thing on my list, and I dread it most times. The days seem full with the kids, and I’m usually exhausted by the time I get to work. 

In a moment of inspiration this afternoon, I decided to spend some focused time doing nothing else but cook the meals I had planned for the week and put them in the refrigerator ready to bake each day. This moment was not for doing laundry AND cooking, or cleaning the kitchen AND cooking. No multitasking. Just one meal at a time. As soon as I finished one I moved on to the next. Since there was no baking time, the prep and actual cooking didn't take me long at all. I finished the dinner for tonight, and meals through Wednesday in about 2 hours. And shockingly I enjoyed it. I had such a feeling of accomplishment, but mostly I knew how this one small thing was going to help me and my family in a BIG way this week.

Tomorrow when it’s time for me to get ready for work in the afternoon, I can get ready for work. No getting ready AND cooking. No getting the boys a snack AND cooking AND getting ready for work. All that “multitasking” leaves me feeling drained at the end of it anyway. I don’t really feel accomplished as much as I just feel busy. Sure I check off a lot on my “to do list” but I don’t really get to relish in my accomplishments. They mostly just feel like chores. 

Today I’m relishing. Relishing the fact that tomorrow I can have peace of mind. That my family will be well fed, on time, and that I didn't have to stress about it.

Seems my small thing wasn't so small after all. Here’s to a week of many more Great Small things!