A Day Off

Today, I had a day off.  


It was a milestone for me in my "days off."  You might be asking, "Really, Natalie?  A Milestone in taking a day off?" Um, yes! 


Here's why it was a milestone for me.  


It was the first day off I have taken where:


-I didn't feel like I needed to be in the office, even though there was LOTS of work to do.
-I didn't feel stress from being out of the office with LOTS of work to do.
-I had full permission and protection of my day off from my boss
-Not once did I check my email to see if there was "something" I needed to take care of urgently
-I spent time supporting Ryan at his work.  I went and saw him at a track meet and brought him coffee and snacks.  ( I know, I know.  A simple applause would be the appropriate response.)


If it sounds crazy to you that these "normal" things occurred on my day of, you obviously haven't known me well in the last two years.  


Here's why:
To me, turning my brain off was not an option.  This caused me to be stressed, which caused me to want to be at work to get things done so that I wouldn't stress about them later.  If I chose to "try" and turn my brain off, not only would that not work but I would not be present wherever I was.  This caused distance in relationships and feelings of loneliness.  I also had a hard time learning to draw the line between "urgent" and "can wait until tomorrow and no one will die."


This day off was a gentle reminder to me of the healing God has done in my professional life.  


God is healer and I am forever thankful for that.

32 days.