If you were the kind of person who saw herself as God’s beloved, what boundaries would you put up around your time? mind? home? schedule? heart? The answers are yours. Take those answers and set up boundaries because, my dear, you are God’s beloved! He loves to be with you wherever you are, and he loves experiencing life with you. Do you feel and rest in his presence and know his love each moment of every day? If not, I would wager you need more boundaries. My favorite definition of boundaries is “barriers set in place to keep you on the side of wisdom.” So what boundaries do you need to fortify so you can stay on the side of wisdom?
"How much better to get wisdom than gold,
to get insight rather than silver!” Proverbs 16:16
Once you have established or fortified the boundaries, you will need to kindly communicate these to your loved ones. Remember, it isn’t an action against them but a decision to stay on the side of wisdom.
Structure for rest is also important. The goodness of rest is only truly good if there is a beginning and an end. There is comfort and safety in knowing work will get its time, recreation will have its time, family/friend connections will also fit into the structure. Rest is guarded from within and from without. Knowing who you are and what is restful will be important to you and may take some time to discern. What is restful for me might not be restful for you.
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Rest Isn't for the Faint-Hearted Continued...
Structure your time of rest before it starts. That is part of the intention necessary. If resting is going on a hike but you didn’t make arrangements for food, gear, and loved ones, you will spend your rest time gathering, planning, sorting, and herding. If you are a person that really doesn’t like structure and your idea of rest would be compromised by a planned structure, then your plan is to have no structure. But if you are the kind that needs a clear plan for rest, then by all means, make a “schedule of rest.”
Rest is a good place to meet God, learn his ways, be with him, receive his love, and become like him. In rest is your salvation and strength. God wants you to come away with him, and in order to do that you will need to lean in to courage and intention, boundaries and structure.
“My beloved spoke and said to me,
'Arise, my darling,
my beautiful one, come with me.’”
Song of Solomon 2:10