By Tonya S. Swindell

My mama knows what her baby needs, so she often says, “Get some rest, Baby!”

To me her words mean: “Get some rest so you can endure long while praying for yourself, husband, daughter and sons. Allow your spirit, soul and body to recuperate so you can perform as an employee and be great. Baby, you can’t take care of anybody else unless you take care of yourself.”

One of Mama’s favorite Bible passages is Psalm 37:3-7. “Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.”

I believe that as I trust in the Lord, delight myself in Him, and commit my way unto Him, I rest better. Resting also helps me feel less irritable so I can express my love to God, myself and others.

When I rest I’m being kind to myself. I also release pride when I admit that I need rest and take practical steps to get it.

The results of a survey I took suggest I need to “come up higher” in the area of loving myself. One way I can do that is by resting without feeling guilty about it. A verse that helps me release guilt is Ecclesiastes 3:1, which says, “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.” That tells me rest is definitely on God’s list of approved activities.

Mama said it, so I’m gonna do it. I’m convinced other people may need to take Mama’s advice, too. So, “Get some rest, Baby!”

Tonya Swindell writes a blog for www.inspirenewlife.org and a teacher for Kingdom Building Equipping School (KBES.com). She can be reached at 1brightot@gmail.com.