I feel guilty relaxing.
There’s always something I should be doing, right?
I remember, after being in school for years, going straight to BYU, immediately getting a teaching job and teaching for 4 years, and then quitting…
I suddenly had a newborn to care for, and nothing else to do.
Sometimes, the newborn took a lot of attention.
But other times, the newborn didn’t need anything while she napped for a long time, and I felt like there wasn’t anything for me to do.
No homework to finish, no lesson plans to write, no papers to grade… Just, nothing.
And I felt so guilty just doing nothing.
Was I supposed to organize my kitchen now? Redo the laundry room? Prep dinners? Scrub a toilet?
I now look back and think: “Oh, I wish I would have enjoyed that more and just relaxed, guilt free!”
But I still struggle with thinking that the only reason I can truly relax is because I don’t have anything on my to-do list.
But what happened during the creation?
“And the Gods concluded upon the seventh time, because that on the seventh time they would rest from all their works which they (the Gods) counseled among themselves to form; and sanctified it.” (Abraham 5:3)
The day of rest was PLANNED.
It wasn’t just “Wow, we totally finished everything ahead of schedule! I guess we can take a day off to do nothing, since there isn’t anything else important to do!”
It was deliberate— a day set aside for the ESSENTIAL purpose of rest.
What a concept.
So, if you are like me, and feel that weight of guilt that you always need to be doing something, let’s take a hint from the Lord God’s example:
Plan for rest.
Happy Studying!
-Cali Black
