Want To Pour Into Your 2(e) Homeschooler? Fill Up Your Cup First!
It’s the wee hours of the early morning. It’s dark. Everyone in your household is sleeping soundly.
Well, everyone but you.
Did I take my multivitamin? I think we need eggs. Will my child get into a good college? Did I put the laundry in the dryer?
We’ve all been there.
In the mad dash from co-op to extracurriculars, some days homeschooling can feel like a sprint.
I promise you it is a marathon.
In bracing yourself for the long haul, remember to not only pace yourself but also take care of yourself.
Learning From Rest
“herefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.“
Hebrews 4:1
Both a basic need and a commandment from our Heavenly Father, the word rest has many meanings. Here are a few:
- freedom from activity, such as work, strain, or responsibility
- a pause for relaxation
- a state of inaction
Rest is essential to our physical, mental, relational, spiritual, and emotional health.
We seem to be a society both in desperate need of AND in desperate pursuit of rest.
It begs the question: Why are we still SO tired?
Internal medicine physician, teacher, author, and mother Saundra Dalton-Smith has some theories. In her book, Sacred Rest Dr. Dalton-Smith breaks down the concept of rest into seven specific categories or types.
Here are the categories:
- Physical
- Mental
- Sensory
- Creative
- Emotional
- Social
- Spiritual
Respecting Rest
Do categories of rest actually matter?
It turns out they matter quite a bit.
In spite of our “hamster furiously running on the treadmill approach” to relaxation, we remain a society “stuck” in our struggle with chronic fatigue.
We diffuse essential oils to unwind, down pots of strong coffee to help us focus on the day before us, and book massages, spa days, and “long weekend getaways” to help us destress.
We go on vacations only to return not refreshed but more exhausted than we were before we left. We covet “me-time” by binging on Netflix and pints of ice cream.
We scour the self-help section of our online bookstores in search of the latest Holy Grail solution to our endless exhaustion.
Wash, Rinse. Repeat.
And yet, we do not seem to experience true respite.
According to Dr. Dalton-Smith, our futile attempts fall flat because we lack a deeper understanding of what rest truly is.
As it turns out, we need to understand rest (and ourselves) in order to attain it.
Sacred Rest
Rest is sacred.
It is deeply personal.
And it deserves our respect.
If we do not give ourselves the right “kind” of rest, we can never truly feel restored. So, how do we determine which “type” of rest we need?
We start by determining which kind of tired we are.
Rest is no different.
To learn more about the different types of tired (and rest) mentioned in Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith’s book, read my blog post here.
Restore From the Source
When we are tired we often simply do not know where to begin to allow healing to occur.
Keep it simple.
Begin at the beginning.
Draw from the well that never runs dry.
Lean on God’s word for guidance. Reestablish a connection with your Creator by referencing the Operator’s Manual for our lives, the Holy Bible.
Choosing to Rest With Attention and Intention
In order to truly experience restoration, we must take ownership of our pursuit of rest. We cannot idly sit by and wait for the opportunity to present itself. We cannot fall prey to excuses of excessive busyness.
Full transparency: do any of us really have more than 24 hours in a day available to us anyway?
We must seek rest, actively with full attention and clear intention.
For some examples of how I schedule rest and implement self-care in my home, check out the video below:
Coming Up
Join us for Part 10 of our “Ten Tips for Homeschooling Twice-Exceptional 2(e) Learners” where we dive deep into the exploration of our identity.
Let’s Keep In Touch
Have a heart for service and love podcasts? Check out our It’s Only Homeschooling Podcast presents the Salt & Light SERVE Spotlight. Each month we feature a different community outreach program. We hope to bring awareness to the good works of these amazing organizations and encourage support.
You can listen to podcast episodes on YouTube, Podbean, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Samsung, PlayerFM, or right here on our website.
Are you a homeschool parent looking for encouragement from other homeschool parents in the trenches? Then check out our latest podcast series, Shelf-Indulgence Book Chats. In this series, we chat with some amazing authors who also happen to be homeschool moms of faith. New episodes premier the first Wednesday of every month on the It’s Only Homeschooling YouTube Channel.
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Blessings,
Kimberly
IOH Mom
This website is not a professional counseling website and nothing here should be construed as professional counseling advice. Although Kimberly Bennett, LPC is a Licensed Professional Counselor, she is not your counselor, and no counselor-client relationship is established unless she has signed an agreement with you. All information provided through this website is for informational and educational purposes only. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure statement. Thanks for visiting!
