Napping has always been my favorite hobby. Some of this is due to tiredness brought on by anemia. After getting the cause of my anemia addressed I had so much energy, I really did not know what to do with myself. Then about two years ago I began to start having that same drained feeling and many normal tasks just seemed to be such a challenge to complete because all I wanted to do was sleep.

Did you know that there are 3 types of sleep apnea? I did not.  Not until yesterday when my doctor read my sleep study results. Obstructive apnea is when there is something blocking the airway during sleep. Central apnea is where your brain basically forgets to tell yourself to breathe. The third is a combination of both, which as it turns out is what I have. Sleep apnea explains my tired feelings and why by the end of the day I feel so drained. Many times I find myself just needing a few minutes of rest before I continue with my task.

My morning devotional reading today was a reminder that we all need to make rest a priority. According to Google the definition of rest is “cease work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, or recover strength.” But how hard is it to shut your brain off enough to allow yourself to cease work and allow yourself time to recover?

My reading pointed out that in Genesis 1 verse 5  God called evening (the time most of us rest) into being before the day. This is such an interesting point. We tend to see morning as our “start” to the day but what if God really intended us to “start” our day with a good rest?

In a society where we overbook ourselves and stretch our bandwidth to its breaking point, prioritizing rest is at the bottom of the to-do list. Even knowing that I approach my day with a healthier attitude when I am rested I still over-extend and over-commit.

As we move into July, let us commit to making rest a priority as God did. Below find some scripture that references rest.