Since moving to Bellingham, I’ve been able to do quite a bit of outdoorsy stuff. I’ve gone on numerous hikes. I’ve been snow shoeing and slept in a snow cave. I’ve walked around downtown and the waterfront, and have gone on plenty of runs. So it’s fairly ironic that I would sprain my ankle at a dance party (jungle-themed dance party to be exact).
The interesting thing about when I sprained my ankle is that early that day, I was on a hike with some friends and talking about how busy I have been the last month. I love meeting new friends, especially ones that are always doing stuff, but it’s made my schedule jump from rarely having plans to always having plans. Even though I might get overwhelmed with so much going on, I find myself still saying yes to things and jamming my schedule. I think mostly because I want to jump into community. It’s easy for me to logically think “well if I didn’t do ____ then I would just be sitting at home doing nothing, so of course I’ll say yes to ____”. This works fine for a while but slowly I start to get burnt out. And last Saturday I was feeling a bit burnt out. I had wanted to have most of the day to chill and relax at home but I also love exploring Bellingham and all the cool hikes around here so I felt like I couldn’t pass up a chance to go on well-known hike I hadn’t done yet. So there I was, complaining about how overwhelmed I was with my schedule and basically saying I couldn’t do anything about it. That night was the dance party and then next day I had plans to go to Canada, and then I would head into another work week. I knew I was getting too busy but it felt like there was nothing I could do about it.
Until I sprained my ankle.
No joke, the second I realized I had sprained it, I knew it was God telling me to slow down. I knew I couldn’t go to Canada the next day and probably wasn’t going to do much of anything the next day. I had wanted a break and I got one. Not EXACTLY how I had pictured it but it was still a break.
Over the course of this last week, I feel like I’ve learned a lot about rest. It’s easy for me to think of rest as just not doing stuff. Like rest is watching hulu or a movie. I think that might be relaxing but it’s not necessarily rest. For example, when my ankle was sprained, I had to rest it. I would keep it elevated, ice it and not put pressure on it. Even though I wasn’t doing much, it took intentionality to rest it. And while it was resting it was healing. It wasn’t in neutral but instead getting better. I think the same is true for our souls when we are intentional with resting. Watching tv SOUNDS like it’s going to be restful but it generally isn’t for me. It’s the lazy and easy form of relaxing. In reality the best way for me to rest is to spend time reading the Bible and being with God. I know it sounds like the cliché answer but it’s so true. But doing that takes intentionality. I have to choose to rest well and when I do God brings healing to my heart, mind and soul. He helps me understand myself and circumstances I’m going through better. He fills me with His Holy Spirit and enables me to love people better and be more grateful.
Even though the ankle thing has been a bit obnoxious this week, I’m grateful for it. I’m grateful I love a God that cares enough about me and my well-being that He allows sprained ankles to happen, so I can refocus and slow down.
So my advice – be intentional about taking rest before you sprain you ankle at a jungle-themed dance party.
BTW – The ankle is doing MUCH better. Shout out to my physical therapist friends who were super helpful in my healing quickly!
nebraskatraveler 