In Thailand, my schedule was slightly crazy. It was very busy, began early in the morning and went well into the night. I wouldn’t get to bed until after midnight some nights and would have to be up and ready to prayer walk early in the morning. I hadn’t done much outside of ministry. I didn’t read a book, like I had been doing prior months, I didn’t journal as much, I didn’t post blogs and I didn’t spend time resting.
You know that scene in Eat, Pray, Love when she discovers the secret of the sweetness of doing nothing. They call it “dolce far niente” in the movie, which is Italian. I love that scene. She looks so content as she sits on the floor and eats a delicious plateful of food and reads the newspaper.
This weekend, I have been at mini debrief in Siem Reap, Cambodia and I experienced dolce far niente.
The beginning of my relaxing weekend was completely unplanned. In fact, I sometimes suffer from FOMO (fear of missing out) and I intended on going to Angkor Wat and other temples here. But I ended up taking care of a sick friend and going to the hospital with her in the middle of the night. We didn’t get back until almost lunchtime. We slept into the evening, woke up, ordered pizza, watched a movie and went back to bed for the night. It was great. The circumstances weren’t the best, but once she was feeling better, it turned into a great day.
The next day was spent collaging, journaling, reading and praying. It was so nice to stay in my room and not do anything, yet do so much! I felt so accomplished and content with all that I got done. It was so restful and reenergizing and nothing like the hectic go-go-go that I had been living. It was so fulfilling to just rest in the Lord, take time to cultivate myself and relax. Oh, and eat homemade peanut butter and granola, an apple and some coffee.
God wants us to rest. God wants us to take care of ourselves. God wants us to be completely present and ready for all that He has for us. And for me, that’s ministry in Cambodia! I am going to Phnom Penh tomorrow to live for a month and partner with an orphanage! I am so excited to work at an orphanage since I haven’t yet on the race. It’s called Bykota House and it looks really wonderful. You can check out their website HERE.
I’m so excited for what God has in store for me in ministry, my personal growth in my walk with Him and in relationships with teammates. I want to be there- fully- for it all. And I feel like I am ready to begin it all after a sweet weekend of doing nothing but resting.
