Learn to invest in Rest

This weeks post is all about rest! Recently, I have been getting so many inspirations from God with regards to the concept of rest. It's amazing how God can speak to you at the times you least expect it. In this case, I had planned to bake on a much more regular basis and try out new recipes that I have never tried before. This included the traditional Italian tiramisu, a brown butter chocolate chip cookie and doughnuts! Not gonna lie, these desserts did take a lot of time and patience and didn't just appear immediately on the day of baking. Some had many components, while others had different stages of the baking process. But one thing all three of these desserts had in common was that they all needed REST. Yep! REST!!!

After writing my post on tiramisu, I was inspired to connect my 3 most recent desserts and write a blog post based on them.

All these desserts require time to rest. Resting helps to bring a depth of flavour, structure and a better texture to these desserts. All in all, making them taste and look better!

Personal experience

I have had multiple reminders and thoughts on the concept of resting. There are times I feel like someone just trying to zoom through life and get assignments, projects and work done and over with. (Honestly, who doesn't...) But yea, especially during the crazy seasons, I feel mentally, physically and spiritually exhausted. Some may think that there isn't a connection between our mental, spiritual and physical health. However, there is.

Every aspect of your body works together. If one part fails, it will bring the rest of the body down with it. There are times I feel so exhausted, I no longer want to interact with people or do anything in general. I just keep to myself to do A LOT of stress thinking- worrying about the tiniest things and stressing over everything.

There are times when I realise that I have way too many commitments and start wondering why I take up so many things. There has always been this part of me that hates to let people down. I guess that's why I put so much pressure on myself and overcommit. When I think of rest, other than getting enough sleep, the greatest struggle I face is to clear my mind and not worry about everything that I need to do or can't control.

Personal reflection

One thing that constantly reminds me to take time off and just rest are when God reveals it to me through baking. The past few bakes I did all involved the bake needing to rest to develop flavour, texture and provide an overall better dish! As a person, rest helps to refresh our body, mind and spirit. Since we are not robots, we cant work 24hrs around the clock every single day for the rest of our lives! Resting helps us to reflect, put aside our burdens and turn back to what's most important.

I believe that rest is something everyone yearns for but can't seem to do due to our busy schedules and fast-paced life. This is when it comes down to knowing yourself and your boundaries. Prioritising what needs to be done first and leaving aside time for yourself. Rest and sabbath is something that God gave to us. It is something we should treasure because it suggests that since God gave it to us, He knows that as humans, we all need rest. We all need to slow down and take the time to align ourselves back to God.

"The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath." - Mark 2:27

Wanting to rest is a personal choice. No one can force you to rest. If you are struggling with prioritising rest, ask God to help you. We can't do everything on our own and need God to help us.

Tips that helped me prioritise REST

1. Compiling a list of all my commitments- This helps me understand what I am involved in and how to prioritise everything

2. Think about what is considered as REST to you- Everyone is different and that means we all have different things we do that will help us rest

3. being intentional in setting aside time each week to REST for a period of time- Looking at your schedule and putting aside just 15 mins to REST

I hope this will help you as much as it helped me! Everything I wrote is based on personal experience and reflections. Feel free to let me know what your thought are on this subject! Would love to hear from all of you!!!

Cheers,

Eleanor Teo