My Eight ‘R’s’ [Cond.]

I will present here the remaining four of my eight ‘R’s’ of ‘retirement’ that I wrote about in my last blog post, which again, I suggest should not be limited to being lived out only in one’s so-called retirement years but are worthy of implementation at any stage of our life. Of course, actual ‘retirement’ or cessation of employment will free up more time to invest in these eight ‘R’s , but even while working, one may, and I suggest should, consider putting in practice these R’s to some extent as well as others discovered by you.

After listing reading, writing, reciting, and reflecting mentioned in my previous post, I wish to now add: resting, re-creating [recreation], relating [to others] and rejoicing. Many pages could be written about the benefits/usefulness of each of these remaining four ‘R’s, but suffice for me to say how important I believe each one to be in achieving and maintaining our mental, emotional, spiritual, and even physical health and overall well-being.

REST– “Rest and self-care are so important. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel” [Eleanor Brown, author] . “You can’t really be present for the people in your life if you aren’t taking care of yourself” [Kerry Washington]

After a busy day of ministry the Lord told the twelve to ‘come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest awhile’ [Mark 6:31]. Someone once quipped ‘if you don’t come apart to rest, sooner or later you will just come apart’. The Psalmist creates the image of peaceful rest under the watchful eye of the Great Shepherd in Psalm 23:2-3: “He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters [lit-‘waters of rest’]. He restores my soul“. It appears there is a very close connection between our Great Shepherd restoring our soul and our giving sufficient time to quietness, and rest. This certainly does not sound like our modern hectic, even frenetic lifestyles but instead one that has developed boundaries, limits, and designated rest/reflection times for the much needed purpose of soul restoration.

RE-CREATE [RECREATION]-What this will look like will vary greatly among individuals. For some, intense physical activity will be an emotional/mental battery charger for them, whereas others may greatly benefit by quiet activities e.g. painting, reading, playing board games, playing a musical instrument or listening to uplifting music, fishing, bird watching, gardening, participating in or observing sports activities, are just a few of the almost endless examples of engaging in personally pleasurable and often soul-restorative activities.

RELATE-One of the saddest consequences of the recent pandemic [other than of course the tragic deaths of so many] was and perhaps still is for some, the isolation and resulting loneliness it created. I was quite grieved to hear of so many who died alone in the hospital, their loved ones not being permitted to be present due to the covid-19 protocols. It is of course quite possible to experience loneliness in the midst of a crowd, but it is almost impossible to avoid such feelings when we are living in forced isolation. For decades, we in the US have used solitary confinement for certain incarcerated persons as a form of psychologically severe punishment for misbehavior. From this form of isolation apparently sometimes come devastating consequences whether intended or not: anxiety, panic, paranoia, hallucinations and even suicide. [“Solitary Confinement and Mental Illness in the U.S. Prisons-A Challenge for Medical Ethics” -The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law-March 2010, Metzner and Fellner, authors]. We were made by God to relate-to Him first but also to others, and isolation, voluntary or involuntary is destructive to our mind, soul, and spirit. One of the expressed purposes of believers in Jesus gathering together is for mutual encouragement: “not forsaking our own assembling together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near” [Heb 10:25]. Isolation destroys that opportunity of mutual encouragement. Being with others for the intentional purpose of relating to them means and requires that we become active listeners-to them, not ourselves, or our ear buds. We are present with them in the moment, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. Paul says we are to ‘weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice’ [Rom 12:15]. This certainly implies that we are intended to connect deeply with one another, even emotionally, and we are not to be just stoic ‘listeners’.

REJOICE-I formerly had seven ‘R’s but my beloved wife suggested I add this one. Perhaps because she is very much aware of my (normally) rather serious temperament and that I can often use some ‘cheerfulness’, a very often present trait of hers. Thinking about this topic prompted me to write a blog post about it recently. For myself I need to plan to rejoice, so to speak-that is, I need to look for and identify good things in my life and outside of it, those blessings I have received from the hand of my Good Shepherd though sometimes delivered via the hands of others. Indeed, I need to pay much more attention to the ‘table’ at which I am sitting, i.e. my circumstances and relationships, to discover just how much ‘my cup is overflowing’ [Psalm 23:5].

Perhaps one or more of these ‘R’s can be of benefit to your own life and journey as you experiment with implementation of them as well as ones you may discover yourself along the way. May I encourage you to carve out adequate time for them, based upon your own circumstances. Perhaps these eight R’s and others like them, can become eight Rhythms helping to bring you a more consistent experience of peace, rest and joy to your soul as you journey to the ‘celestial city’.

CJS