Submitted by Karl Forehand

During my stroke recovery, progress is very, very slow, and parts of it are painful. For the first part of this week my body was very tired for some reason. So, I spent about four days trying to just rest.

I learned early in life to work hard and follow that pattern for most of my life. Whatever deficiencies I thought I had, I knew I could overcome by showing up and doing the work. Common counsel among religious people is that if something feels off or your spirituality is not working, you probably need to do more. More Bible study, church attendance, prayer, help the poor, etc.

I’m so glad that I’m being exposed to different types of spirituality that say to be still and listen, go inside, and rest. Sometimes, we need to let it come to us instead of making it happen.

Often there is hard work that needs to be done and it won’t get done by ignoring it. But just like my experience this week, we need to listen to our bodies and hear what our souls need.

Sometimes the most life-giving and spiritual thing we can do is take a nap.