Finding Rest When You’re a Busy Homemaker
When you’re a busy homemaker, finding rest can be such a challenge. But it’s still so very important!
Rest. It’s something so hard to find – especially when you’re a busy homemaker.
Work has a way of piling up. As part of everyday life, dishes get dirtied, laundry needs washed … and even if they didn’t, dust would still eventually accumulate.
When it comes to keeping a home, work will always need to be done. Always. And if you’re a particularly finicky homemaker, a lot of work will need to be done.
Yet even with lengthy to-do lists and never-ending chores, you still need to find rest.
I’ll admit that I’m not so great when it comes to enforcing my own rest. (I know what to do – but I don’t always do it.) But it’s vital to find ways to rest and then follow through.
I’ve discovered that as a homemaker I find rest in four different ways:
1. Sleep.
Oh, sweet sleep. A good night of sleep can seemingly make everything better in the morning.
It’s vitally important that our bodies get enough sleep – too little sleep and you don’t function well. If you’re depriving yourself of a good night of restful sleep, you won’t be able to think as clearly, your emotions and moods are less likely to be controlled, and you may even start to feel physically ill.
To care for your home and family well, make sure you’re getting enough sleep.
2. Daily rest.
You may be a homemaker like me and depend on to-do lists to guide you through your day.
Some miraculous days, I actually get all of my to-do lists done before bedtime. (I’ve learned to scale back on my plans and try to realistically figure out what I should do in a day – instead of creating a long list I can never achieve.) When this happens, I stop and rest.
Even though I know there are plenty of other things I could add to my to-do list and my evening, I congratulate myself for getting everything done in the day – and I take a break.
When this kind of daily rest happens, I use it like an unexpected gift to read books or watch a movie with my husband.
Even if your to-do list isn’t to-done, you still can – and should – build in some quiet time to relax in each day.
3. Weekly rest.
God – the Lord of the universe – created everything in six days and rested on one. As God, He probably didn’t need rest. But He took rest, and in doing so He gave us a very clear example that we need rest, too.
Yet not many people keep a Sabbath rest anymore. Because stores, restaurants and gas stations are open on Sundays (I remember when not many were!) people can keep going every day of the week.
And with so much work done virtually, there’s no escaping it – you can push yourself to keep working every single day of the week.
You need a break, though.
For fun, just for a month, start taking a Sabbath rest. Unplug one day a week, decide to not go to stores, and just take one day a week off:
- Let your mind rest.
- Let your body rest.
- Let your schedule rest.
I am certain that you’ll enjoy the change. Whenever I take a Sabbath rest, I end up wishing every day could be the Sabbath.
Although it can be difficult to get into a Sabbath habit at first, you’ll quickly begin to look forward to it each week.
4. Yearly rest.
The older I get – and the older my kids get – the more I notice that time truly flies. I think it picks up speed with every passing year. Because of this, I’m always surprised when a season comes and goes. I’d love to take a seasonal rest, but it just never seems to happen.
I do plan a yearly rest, though. And every year, we plan a summer vacation.
I make sure to take an entire week off:
- No cleaning.
- No work.
- No duties or responsibilities.
For that one week, I want to be completely unplugged – and completely focused on enjoying my family and myself.
That means when my kids want to play with me, I can say yes and play for as long as they’d like, because I don’t have to stop and tend to the chores in my house. When my husband wants to take me out on a date night, I can say yes because I don’t have any responsibilities that desperately need to get finished.
When I took my yearly week off this summer, I actually stopped thinking about everything except the plans we made for the day and our plans for meals. All of the details of life that consume my thoughts every other day left my mind. And it was glorious.
I’ll admit that it takes an awful lot of planning and preparation to get an entire week of rest each year. But it’s completely and totally worth it. I love how fun and free I feel during the week – and how rested and refreshed I am when it’s over.
Even if rest is so hard to find – especially when you’re a busy homemaker – find it. And make it a priority so you can set aside time for it.
As a busy homemaker, how are YOU finding rest?
Feeling too busy as a homemaker? Check out these other posts, too:
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All images courtesy of Pexels.
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Great call-ou Hilary. I have just started to follow your blog. So important for Mums to get sufficient rest to recharge and centre ourselves again. Often, we take care of others but forget about ourselves.
I still need more rest, mainly because I don’t sleep well at night, however……..one thing that does help me is Sabbath rest! I am a Sabbath keeper and what a blessing it is! We are not meant to work (and play) 7 days a week. That is not how God designed us. We need rest from the world, life, work, the responsibilities!
We need spiritual uplifting to get us through the next week. I am happy to get most of my cleaning/ cooking done on Friday and know that when the sun sets I get a break from cleaning, cooking, and can just relax and enjoy my family! It has become my boy’s favorite day because as they say it, “it’s the day I get to play with mommy”. All the other days are so rushed and trying to fit everything in, even playing with the kids. But on Sabbath it is a scheduled time they know I will have time for them!
Love your blog! :)
Thanks so much for sharing your Sabbath experience, Gina! I agree that taking a Sabbath rest is so incredibly refreshing … and it’s great for the whole family! (I completely understand about trying to fit everything in and not getting time to play with the kids!)