The background roar from this year’s Super Bowl game flung itself upward from our family room to the loft where clicking computer keys could barely be heard. I endeavored to inscribe words for you to read, while the noise peppered my thoughts and the scent of yummy snacks drew me trekking downstairs occasionally. So I hope you’ll forgive some drifting in my composition here.

Super Bowl is just one of many occasions on our American calendar where we can pause our day-to-day hectic schedules to celebrate. Sometimes we plod through the days checking off our lists. However, some days are filled with pain, grief, hurt, or emptiness that leave us numb.

Where do we look for peace?

Is it in the next occasion that promises a break in our cyclical habits? Or do we turn to the One who offers us joy and rest in each moment of life?

For the past three years, my life has been over-the-top busy. Even during the pandemic, I found a way (or it found me) to make the months pass quickly as they overflowed with fulfilling work. At the end of 2020, I took a brief break. Then I set the next year on fire to continue making progress. By 2022, I jumped in with both feet to finish the project I had begun in the pandemic.

At the beginning of this new year, 2023, I decided to seek the Lord for a word from Him that would show me where He wanted me to focus. Spending time to determine the Lord’s direction in a word or phrase is a common practice among writing friends and was something I had done in the past. This year, I needed direction for my life.

The word, “Rest,” whispered on the threads of my thoughts. Knowing how busy my past years had been, I knew I had to seek the Lord to ensure I was following His direction and that I was not just caving into my tired flesh screaming at me. After praying, it became clear the Lord was inviting me to spend time at His feet and not scurry off to my next project with a quick word thrown heavenward, “Lord, please lead me in this next step.”

My heart skipped beats as I contemplated taking a break from my hectic schedule. Would everything I had worked for just slip through my fingers like sand in an hour glass? How much did I have to release to an unknown future? What could I continue to pursue?

Have you ever felt that hesitancy to cling to what is familiar or hold something close to your heart which you’ve poured yourself into? Hypothetically, it feels akin to my stomach flipping if I stood on the threshold of jumping out of an airplane.

When I wrote this, we were only in the middle of February and the Lord, my body, and life circumstances have confirmed that word. As I flipped through internet sites, books such as Sacred Rest by Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith and Growing Slow by Jennifer Dukes Lee drew my attention. If that wasn’t enough confirmation of God’s leading, Our Daily Bread Ministries sent a pamphlet in the mail with it’s monthly devotional titled Sacred Rest: God’s First Gift.

Thank you God, I got Your message. And thank you that your love that made it clear.

Thus my adventure into “Rest” has begun. You will find me with my nose in a book examining the different aspects of rest with my heart at the feet of Jesus, soaking in His words. My discoveries will be appearing here as the year rolls on.

As Lent began last week, it seems appropriate to focus more on resting at our Savior’s feet than continuing my frenzied pace. What are you hearing God calling you to invest yourself in this sacred season? I’d love to hear from you.

From My Heart to Yours,
Janis

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