January Reflections: Rest & Spiritual Nourishment
Hey, friends! I pray the new year is off to a great start for you and your family, especially given all of the challenges we faced last year and those which have carried over into this year. I know for me the start of this year has been everything that I’ve needed as a result of making some intentional decisions. I ended last year completely burned out despite taking two weeks off towards the end of December. That month, I picked up some new responsibilities at work as a result of my manager going out on maternity leave, I exerted a lot of mental and emotional energy trying to mend a personal relationship, and I found myself busy in general all throughout the month not taking the time to fully slow down and care for myself. As a result of feeling mentally, physically, and emotionally drained as well as experiencing inner turmoil, I decided to devote the month of January to resting and nourishing my spirit.
More specifically, I decided to complete a 21-day spiritual fast, leave capacity within my days and overall calendar to rest and care for myself, and unplug from social media. Crazy enough, the day I opened my Instagram app to sign out for the month, the post that showed up at the top of my feed included the following list of soul care reminders from @theflourisheffect_:
My mind can take a break
My body deserves rest
My heart needs to be checked on
My spirit must be nourished
My inner peace is a priority
There was also a quote in the caption that personally resonated with me. It read, “When your soul is nourished, everything else aligns.” After reading this post, I felt so affirmed in my decision to prioritize rest and my spiritual health throughout the month of January and became even more excited about the journey ahead. It’s now the end of the month, and I can tell you that it was one of the best decisions I’ve made for myself recently!
So first, let me tell you about my fast. I completed Transformation Church’s 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting, which included the Daniel Fast as well as daily prayer and scripture reading from the Bible. I chose to do this for a few reasons. First, many times when I feel off-center, it’s because I haven’t spent intentional time with God over an extended period of time. Therefore, the inner turmoil I was experiencing in December was a sign for me to realign myself with God and create more space in my daily life for Him. Secondly, I decided to fast to develop a deeper relationship with God and allow Him to reveal the areas of my heart and spirit that needed to be transformed. Lastly, I made the decision to do this to seek God’s wisdom and His will regarding different areas of my life. As a result of this fast, I’ve experienced a new level of inner peace and felt much more connected to God and attuned to His voice. I’ve also developed discipline and created patterns that have set me up to establish a lifestyle of prayer and daily devotion to God. Lastly, my inner foodie was super excited to discover and try some cool vegan spots here in Charlotte!
As an extension of my fast, I also decided to unplug from social media for the majority of the month to silence a lot of the external noise and voices in my life. This allowed me to hear more clearly from God and create more capacity in my days. I became a better steward of my time and reallocated that time towards more productive, meaningful activities such as some of the things listed above, investing in my blog, or simply doing other things I enjoy. I’ve also felt more content as a result of unplugging from social media as I can sometimes fall into the trap of comparing myself to others.
Lastly, I intentionally left capacity within my days and overall calendar for rest. COVID (*insert eye roll* lol) also eliminated any chance of me possibly filling my calendar with things to do or other outside commitments by forcing me into a 10 day quarantine. (Side note: I’ve fully recovered, and I’m so grateful to God for healing me!) While being sick wasn’t ideal, it was sort of a blessing in disguise, allowing me to fully slow down, rest, and devote more time to myself and with God. Another mindset I adopted at the start of the month is “Don’t automatically agree to do something or make yourself available to others simply because your calendar is open during that time.” This mindset helped me to remain focused and committed to the intentions I’d set for the month. Another thing I did with my free time was start reading a new book called “Atomic Habits” as I’ve been working on becoming more disciplined and creating more consistent routines in my life. It’s filled with several practical tips and examples. I’d highly recommend it, if you’re desiring to do similar things in your life.
So what parts of yourself need nourishing? What areas in your life do you feel overextended? What dream or goal have you delayed because you haven’t managed your time well? What things do you need to say no to in order to say yes to the things and people that are most important to you?
Friends, I pose these questions and share this story with you to encourage you to listen to your body and emotions as well as to honor the boundaries and commitments you’ve set for yourself. When you feel off-center, take the appropriate steps so that you can get back in alignment quickly. I also want to encourage you to make rest and self-care (whatever it looks like for you) a normal part of your routine. Create the structure and necessary boundaries in your life that allow you to care for yourself and spend your time in the ways that are most meaningful to you. When you care for yourself and create space in your life to do the things that you enjoy, you are able to show up as your best self in all areas of your life, including your relationships. And most importantly, I encourage you to make your spiritual health and your relationship with God a priority. When you prioritize this aspect of your life, you will experience a greater sense of inner peace and every other aspect of your life will be blessed and fruitful.
With love,
Imanne
P.S. I’d love to hear how you’ve spent the past month and about the lessons you’ve learned that you’ll carry with you throughout the rest of this year. Drop them in the comments below!