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

Share:

Facebook
Pinterest
Email
Print

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I accept the Privacy Policy

Keep Studying

Related Posts

The final verse

Have you ever come to the end of a book and felt so sad that it’s over? That’s how I feel every time I get

My mentor teacher 

When I was a student teacher, my mentor teacher asked me: “What do you think your spiritual super power is?” She was not a member

I can do anything! 

Do you ever feel intimidated by the amount of agency you have?!⁣ I sometimes think about how I could literally do anything I wanted to

Staring out a window

I love staring out car windows. Growing up in Northern California, I felt like we were always taking road trips. Whether it was across Nevada

Casting out fear

There have been a lot of opportunities for me to feel fear throughout my life. Scary health issues. Scary potential futures. Scary financial situations. Scary