When I watched gorillas at the zoo

After lunch one day, I followed my kids into the gorilla exhibit at the zoo. The sight almost made me laugh out loud: the gorillas were displaying exactly what a typical afternoon in our home looks like-or, at least, what I want it to look like. 

As I gazed at these majestic creatures who were caught up in an afternoon snooze, I wondered if I could learn something from them about the importance of rest. 

Even while on display, the gorillas settled down to take a break. It's what they  needed, so it's what they did. While it would not work out well if we disregarded propriety and manners and flung ourselves down for naps anywhere we wanted, perhaps we can still notice how the gorillas rest, not caring that people were nearby, watching their every move. 

Would we be willing to do a similar thing? 

All summer, I've been thinking about what it means to "lie fallow." Seeing the gorillas in their afternoon nap only continued this theme. It made me think about all the times when I've pushed myself beyond my limits. At times, I've done this out of my own desire to accomplish good things-but there's sometimes another reason, too: I'll be motivated by a desire to meet unspoken expectations and a pressure that I've felt, to "always be doing something." 

Continually create. Market yourself. Develop your brand. Give your children the highest quality of education you can think of, so that other parents will be impressed by your teaching and choice of curricula. Go, go, go. Always have something amazing to offer in those conversations of "small talk" at the library, grocery store, or parking lot. Whichever way I turn, whether it's in homeschooling, parenting, the writing world, or anywhere in between, pressures and expectations are there-and breaks are few and far between. Countless people are pushing themselves hard in one direction or another, to the point where they are living in continual stress and agitation. I've seen it in others, and I've experienced it myself. 

There are those few brave people who publicly discuss the importance of making time for rest and slowing down. Yet, those are also often people who have "made it" in many professional ways already. They've written books, done podcasts, been on television, or completed numerous amazing feats. So, when they say those things, there's part of me that thinks, I agree, but that's easy for you to say-you've already "put in your time" for years and years and you have the luxury of taking breaks here and there. 

But I think of those gorillas at the zoo, and I think about how good it is to claim rest even if we haven't "made it" in whatever area-homemaking, homeschooling, profession pursuits-we're focused on. How, when I silence the noise and expectations of the world and crawl back into the hobbit hole of my home and local community, life slows down in a beautiful way. I find myself wondering if I can be brave enough to rest even if other people happen to be watching; because I'm finding that living in a state of rest and peace is much healthier for me, my marriage, my parenting, and my homeschooling than the alternative. 

It shouldn't be a crazy idea, and yet, it is. 

Being willing to not be an "influencer," being satisfied with "unremarkable" accomplishments, and prioritizing rest in whatever ways we need--whether it's stepping away from social media and/or our phones, making time for fun creative pursuits, or cozying up with a book so that we can recharge; these ideas run against so much of what is in our culture and in our communities. Stepping off the hamster-on-a-treadmill lifestyle is daunting, but just imagine how liberating it is. 

When we stop living up to those pressures and expectations (both the real ones and those we have imagined) we're more free, refreshed, and open to hear God's voice and follow his lead...and that is the lifestyle that will truly satisfy us.