On Wednesday, as I was sitting in the teacher training seminar, I took a look at my fellow teacher trainees. A colleague leaned over and whispered, “Is it just me or do we look more exhausted each week?”
He was right.
Dark small eyes glanced back at me. Bored and incredibly tired expressions on their faces, many of us worked really hard to not fall asleep during pedagogy class.
We’re exhausted and in desperate need of a break.
Do you know this feeling? Your body is exhausted, your mind is tired.
You just need a break.
If we take a closer look at the word “break” we find it’s actually a very active verb.
Breaks don’t come upon us, we need to take them.
Break up the routine you’re in, the spinning wheel you can’t get out of.
The clusters and circles you’re stuck in.
Break with the thought patterns you entertain every day. The worries and questions tormenting your soul.
Break free from things and people holding you back.
Break through to rest. Peace of body, soul, and mind.
We need it desperately. Every day.
Often it doesn’t take much to have a break.
Give yourself time to get ready in the morning.
Enjoy your breakfast. Food in general is good. 🙂
Don’t work through your break time at work.
Take a walk.
Meet a friend for coffee and allow them to encourage you.
Read a book. No notes, just for you and for fun.
Listen to a piece of music, really listen. Let the instruments and the lyrics sink in and resonate with the strings of your soul.
Be still. Seek silence. Seek Him who promised to bind you wounds and refresh your empty soul.
It doesn’t take much to have a break.
But it does take your first step. Break is an active verb.
Where can you take a break today?
Want to make break a routine in your life? Then join me at Shelley Miller’s Sabbath Society – for all those who are all in for Sabbath, God’s desginated break for us.
thisiskatha.com 
Sorry to hear about your struggles, but our body often tells us what's wrong on the inside. I also suffered lots of bodily problems in the last year because my soul was simply overworked. We definitely need to listen to these signs and take action then. All the best as you learn to have more breaks in your life, Jennifer!
Intentional is the keyword in all of this. Tends to be overused these days, but it is important. Glad you have such a nice break routine!
You're so ahead of me in taking these breaks…I've learned a lot on energy and spirit management in the last year, but it's a battle sometimes…
Thanks for sharing your thoughts today, Liz!
It's always interesting to look at words literally and from both sides…Thanks, Leah!
Thank you for this reminder, Katha. While I'm an introverted individual and love to have some alone time (every day, if I can get it) I have a tendency to overbook myself something fierce. Times are changing though, my friend. I've learned my lesson hard when my body hit full adrenal fatigue back in January causing my autoimmune issues to flare up. It was a clear sign from Him that I wasn't accepting His gift of rest. Oh, how I've learned that lesson.
Beautiful words today, Katha!
Amen! We need to grab those moments and make them intentional. I've kept Sabbath my entire life, and I'd be a wreck without it. It was those other, smaller breaks that I had to learn how to be intentional about. I'm starting to achieve balance in that area. My favorite ways to 'take a break' during the day is to wander around outside for fifteen minutes looking for birds or flowers or beauty of any kind.
YES. I'm a huge advocate for breaks!
“Breaks don't come upon us, we need to take them.” We NEED to. Maybe because I'm more introverted and I tend to focus on energy management versus time management, I'm really good at breaking. When I look at my daily schedule, I always carve out time for a break to recharge and just be.
Very insightful! And thanks for the mention, friend!
I loved your encouragement here.
I also found myself quoting part Isaiah 53 about Christ binding our wounds today, but from a very different perspective.
It's funny, the word “break '- It can be the negative form like ” I am breaking apart” or the positive form like “give her a break”. I, not surprising, instantly gravitated towards the negative…but your post, about the positive, kinda shows how to go about getting that healing of the negative “break” all through having a different perspective. Perspective is an active word too.
So thanks.
Enjoy your weekend and your soon Spring “break” since you are a teacher!
Cheers,
Leah