Weary and Burdened

Weary and Burdened Written by Trevor Tarantowski You wouldn’t mistake me for someone who’s into “hustle and grind” culture. I love really slow mornings, coming to a complete stop at stop signs, and I’m usually 5 minutes late. And yet, lately I’ve been hearing Jesus inviting me into rest. I often mistake the absence of productive activity with rest, and I’m now realizing they’re not the same thing. Here’s an example: After a long day, I want some “me time” to recharge. My first instinct is to reach for my phone. What do I find? Texts from the group chat, Instagram inviting me to doomscroll, reminders, emails, and LinkedIn telling me I appeared in 4 searches. Not exactly restful. Every scroll keeps me awake, even though I’m tired and in bed. I resonate with Paul, who says, “Oh, what a wretched man I am! …For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” (Rom. 7:15). Dramatic? Maybe. But, I feel you, Paul. Rest isn’t my default. Left to my own devices, I’ll entertain and distract myself into oblivion. I need rules. I need Sabbath. I started creating some rules to allow myself to breathe deep and for God to refresh my soul. It started with putting my phone to bed. For a week, I put my phone to bed at 10:25, 5 minutes before I went to bed. The next week, 10:20. My dream is to work back 5 minutes at a time to 9:00. The second thing I began was practicing Sabbath on Sundays—turning off my phone, and only doing things that fell into these categories: rest, worship, or delight.