Around 7am, noon, and 5pm. Those are the only three times that the public bus runs through Dobromirka, the tiny village my team and I have been living in this month. It is a small village, with less than 500 residents.
Every day the bus comes by to take people to the nearest bigger village, Sevlievo. It is also not a very big village but it does have a grocery store!
As I was talking to one of my teammates, she brought up a good point – could you imagine in America if there was a bus that only came every four hours to your village? (There probably is somewhere but not that I know of).
But her comment got me thinking…
In America we have to have everything right away, no waiting. If the public bus is five minutes late we put up a fuss. For this reason (and location of course) most of us don’t take public transportation.
After spending almost three months in Europe, I have come to enjoy their more relaxed culture. People take the time to slow down, to actually enjoy their coffee rather than get it to-go, to talk to their neighbor. If it is too hot outside, they stay inside and wait for the weather to cool down. They rest in the afternoons.
I cannot imagine doing any of that when I get home. And it makes me sad. I know I will be busy with family, friends, appointments, my job, school, and just getting to all those places. When is there time to slow down? When is there time to take a breath and thank the Lord for His creation, for coffee, for good conversation?
I don’t know how to incorporate the European mindset of REST into America. If I did, I promise I would take it home with me and you would all be very happy for it.
Even though we may not be able to take the afternoons off in America, I want to encourage all of you to find what does actually bring you rest. I have had to do that on the Race as we are given one day of rest per week. Rest has come in many different forms for me. It has looked like:
Taking a nap in a hammock
Hiking a mountain
Exploring a new city
Sitting in a coffee shop all day talking to loved ones back home
Exploring a fort
Swimming in a waterfall
Reading a book all day
Playing card games with my team
All of these things bring me rest. I know some of those things may not be restful for you, but they are for me. Some things NOT on this list:
Watching Netflix
Binge watching a TV show
Scrolling on my phone all day
There is definitely nothing wrong with any of these things. But they are not truly restful. They don’t rest the mind or body truly
In the busyness of your life, I want to encourage you to find what brings you rest. For every person it will look different. But rather than coming home and turning on Netflix after a long day, why not talk to your family for awhile? Or pick up a book you started at the beginning of the year? Why not go for a walk outside and possibly chat with a neighbor? We need to force ourselves to slow down. Take the time to go and enjoy God’s amazing creation! (That includes the outdoors and people also).
