Dear beautiful ladies,

this one is written just for you!

About 3 years ago, my husband and I realized we were pregnant with our 4th child. We didn’t see it coming because our 3rd child was already 7years old! We were done with child-bearing (or so we thought) and were now focused on raising them and giving them the best that we, through God’s help, could afford.

I wasn’t very pleased with myself (and my husband!) and so, in order to make myself happy, I started documenting different things that I would do while I’m on my 12-month maternity leave, to ‘justify’ the pregnancy and the long break that accompanied it. It’s crazy how we think sometimes! I had to repent afterwards!

Anyway, we welcomed our son in July 2018 and as soon as I felt strong enough, I swung into action. I took up some other assignments, besides my regular mom duties. Remember, I already had three kids who still needed my attention. I started a small catering business, while I researched on how to run a cleaning business as well. I also registered and started studying for my professional exams and my Canadian citizenship test. I got involved in the lives of a few younger ladies within my circle as a mentor and I deliberately became active in three social media groups, because I felt I had ‘enough insights to share’. I was determined not to ‘waste’ the time. I wanted to be relevant to everyone and everything that was connected to me.

I am also that lady who likes her house to remain in a permanent state of cleanliness and orderliness and so I was ALWAYS cleaning, taking stuff out, switching positions, arranging and rearranging closets and drawers…name it! I was literally all over the place! I was nursing a baby as well and so I wasn’t getting enough sleep at night. Instead of taking a break during the day while he was napping, I still found something to do. My eyes were always blood-shot red and I was cranky, of course! That was when I realized I was doing too much and needed a break. I decided to take some time to rest. I kept reminding myself, “Chinazo, you MUST find a day during the week to rest; take along nap.”

I woke up on the chosen day of rest and the first thing that caught my eyes was an untidy spot in my basement. Since I love to clean and tidy up, (it’s one of my favorite things to do. When I’m happy, I clean; when I’m sad, I clean; when I’m stressed, I clean!) I picked my ‘gadgets’ and as I was about to get started, I scrolled through my phone briefly and saw this message:

“When we are resting because we are worn out, you need to remember that you are not wasting time. You are doing exactly what you need to do. You are recovering.”

You see, being a woman, on its own, is demanding; whether you are single or married. There is so much pressure on us from our immediate environment and the society in general. These pressures go beyond cooking, cleaning and doing regular house chores. Society wants us to be caring daughters, virtuous wives, outstanding mothers, dutiful daughters-in-law, excellent employees, trail-blazing bosses; at the same time, we are expected to maintain a perfect body shape – no excess fat around our waistlines, no bulging cheeks, no drooping jaws and no flabby arms!

We cannot be all of these and still maintain our sanity if we do not make rest a recurring habit in our lives. It should be an item on our list of priorities. It should be mandatory. Isn’t it amazing that though the Bible says God does not sleep nor slumber, the same Bible records that God rested on the 7th day after creation? I strongly believe that he did that to exemplify the importance of rest to us.

Jesus Christ also did the same while he was on earth. On several occasions, he would walk away from His disciples and the crowd to get some rest and in those moments, He took time to commune with His Father, to gain clarity, to review His assignments and priorities. Can you remember what Jesus was doing while He was on the ship with His disciples and the storms came? He was sleeping! Prior to that time, He had been teaching His disciples some lessons about the kingdom using parables. In other words, He had been talking all day! Talking is tiring, even for those of us who love to talk! I’m assuming that He knew he would have more work to do when they got to ‘the other side’ so He decided to rest before the next assignment. He took a nap! The Bible records that as soon as they got to the other side,

📍 He met a man with an unclean spirit and healed him.

📍 He met Jairus who had just lost his daughter and the girl was restored.

📍 He healed the woman with an issue of blood. (Matthew 4 & 5)

Jesus did all of these after that power nap!

My pretty damsels, the fact that we have been called by God to play different roles in the lives of the people around us is not enough for us to tear ourselves apart. We cannot allow our desire to impress, our drive for perfection, our fear of failure and our ego rule our lives to the point where we refuse to pause for a second to breathe. The One who has called us understands our frailty, and so anytime we feel like super-humans, as people who are able do all things, hear what the Bible says;

📖 “Not by might, nor by power, BUT BY MY SPIRIT”, says the Lord (Zechariah 4:6).

📖 “I’m in charge of mercy. I’m in charge of compassion.” Compassion doesn’t originate in our bleeding hearts or moral sweat, BUT IN GOD’S MERCY (Romans 9:16 | MSG).

📖 He protectively cares for his faithful friends, step by step, but leaves the wicked to stumble in the dark. NO ONE MAKES IT IN THIS LIFE BY SHEER MUSCLE! (1Samuel 2:9 | MSG).

📖 Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? COME TO ME. GET AWAY WITH ME AND YOU’LL RECOVER LIFE. I’LL SHOW YOU HOW TO TAKE A REAL REST. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly – (Matthew 11:28-30 | MSG)

📌Rest renews our strength.

📌Rest gives us clarity.

📌Rest makes the task ahead of us easier.

📌Rest brings healing.

Take the time off. Rest. Relax. Recover.