“My soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from Him.” — Psalm 62:1
It is the weekend, I have no plans, and I love it! I have been looking forward to this week for the past three weeks because I get to rest! Remember last week when I wrote about all the travel opportunities, adventure on every corner, and the biggest bang for your buck? Those things all remain true, but I am exhausted. I have traveled by bus to a different part of Ecuador every weekend since my arrival, and I just need a break.
Immersed in a “go-with-the-flow” culture where everything is “tranquila,” my mind and my body have struggled to know how to slow down. Rest is an essential part of life that our bodies need to thrive, yet mine does not know how. Those things called hobbies that most people have or that list of Netflix shows everyone watches, my brain does not know how to enjoy. Living a life at a slower pace sounds impossible to me because I don’t know how to handle the down moments.
Apart from traditional academics, much of this semester for me is learning how to rest. Disclaimer: I honestly don’t know how to do that yet. My life before coming to Ecuador was lived at a pace way faster than what is healthy; I hated the thought of slowing down, and I thought rest was a waste of time. Culture-shock to me is that it isn’t and I need to re-learn how to live.
It’s kind of like going on a first date with myself. It feels like a long, slow, and awkward process that keeps me wondering, “how much longer until this is over.” I have to figure out how to make myself thrive with energy, happiness, and peace. My semester is about discovering the blessing of rest. The blessing of rest given by a God who longs for my soul to rest confidently and securely in Him. I’ve spent the first twenty years of my life running from this blessing because I never recognized it in that way.
This weekend I have time to rest my body and my mind, and I am so thankful. I know this means a hard weekend mentally coming my way, because like I said, I haven’t been trained for this. I am learning to see these times as a blessing, because I know that they are essential for me to grow, learn, and thrive as the person my Heavenly Father created me to be. It is a gift that I am given to enjoy this weekend teaching my soul the necessity of ALWAYS resting in HIM!
