I love learning from older women of God. What a blessing to read or to
listen to those who have already walked wisely before us in child raising
and marriage. One of the interesting things I have learned over the
years is the simple practice of taking a short afternoon nap. One of my
favorite mentors, Mama Tweten, from the book "First We Have Coffee"
regularly took a daily afternoon nap. When you read all that that woman
accomplished in a day from the early morning to the late evening, it is
simply amazing. But she was wise and paced herself.
I was talking to a friend recently. She was telling me about her
grandmother. I love to hear about women's grandmothers and their wise
ways. But what really caught my attention after she described what a hard
worker her grandmother was: always cooking from scratch, sewing,
cleaning, gardening, with much, much energy were the words, "She took a
daily nap."
I said to my friend, "That was her secret, you know." For I have learned
that a small daily nap does wonders for me. By about 1:00 p.m. I have
already done quite a bit in my house. It is so nice to lay down with one
of my children or have them be very quiet while I lay down. I have
practiced this for many years now. After a small nap (about 50 minutes to
an hour), I will get up and have some tea. I am so refreshed to continue
on in my day. I am so refreshed to greet my husband when he comes home
tired after a hard day at work.
Art is often very tired after working construction all day, so I
encourage him to take a little nap. Yesterday he came home early. I set
the bedroom up for him with the shade drawn and the door locked. I kept
the children quiet. He had a nice nap and woke up ready to tackle the
rest of the day and his many projects with new vim and vigor. He also
woke up the next morning feeling far more refreshed than usual.
I know it is hard to take a nap when there is so much to do around you.
What if you sleep all afternoon? Like anything else, it takes practice.
Jesus took a nap in a boat. Naps refresh and rejuvenate. A small nap
helps me to get more done than if I just kept going all day.
I was up at 3:45 a.m yesterday morning as my husband had to leave for
work at 4:15 a.m. By the time I took my nap my house was still in
serious disarray after homeschooling. But when I woke up I felt so much
better after a cup of tea. I was able to do most of the cleaning with
such a feeling of refreshment while listening to beautiful praise music.
Had I not taken a nap, I would have had difficulty with my energy level
and gotten far less done than I did. I would have been tempted to talk or
to think more about what I needed to do rather than to just do it.
Mama Tweten was so serious about her nap that if you visited her you took
a nap or read quietly when she did! Her daughter did not like nap time
growing up, but can now see the value of her mother's daily nap. A nap
is not weakness. A nap is strength. A nap accomplishes far more in an
hour than going straight through in one's day of work. And like Mama
Tweten, if my children have guests, they must go and be quiet for an hour
while I rest. It is truly one of the most refreshing parts of my day.
Take a nap today. Just knowing that it is coming up will help you work
harder beforehand and harder afterwards. For naps are a refreshment that
help us to pace ourself and serve those He's given us to love with a
renewed vim and vigor.
Love to you,
Laine