The Rest That Refreshes
Feet tucked under me, I curl into a cozy position on the sofa with book in lap. At last, I am relaxed–resting. The house is quiet and the last rays of day slant warmly across the family room carpeting. Lost in the pages of a Christian novel, the week’s cares melt away.
Youngest falls into the recliner across the room and a gentle conversation emerges. The words flow between us as if time is taking a breather, nothing measured against a speeding clock. This, too, is calming rest.
I find rest in many places and ways:
- the ease of pizza dinners on Friday nights
- coming home from work before the sun goes down
- snuggling with hubby in front of a crackling fire
- girl-talk over the phone
- time spent with friends
- a clean and somewhat orderly home (although it takes work to get there)
- fun conversations with my young men
- watching the sun sink below the western horizon coloring the sky with hues of pink, orange, red
- stretching out in a patio chair, collecting cloud shapes floating by in the sky above
- the rhythmic splash of ocean waves
- cascading waterfalls
- the plink-plunk of rainfall on the roof, along the patio, against the windows
- prayers whispered at the end of Bible Study or Home Group
- and most importantly, the calming of my spirit by Scriptures I’ve long trusted because of the Lord’s stamped seal of approval and guarantee
Unfortunately, these moments of rest are rare. Typically, I chose the craziness that drives me and most of our world in a non-stop race to see whose “To Do List” is heaped the highest. Squeeze an errand in after work–miss the last rays of day or time to curl up on the sofa with a book. Book my evenings with good, even godly events–loose precious moments of conversation with my guys or time to snuggle with hubby.
Plunk on the computer way past a reasonable bed time, robbing my body of sleep and health. Listening to the whispers that sound like “light”–I need to write this blog post because………
In my hectic pace to achieve some precious prize in this life, I miss out on the most important prize of all–time with the One who loves me most. Time to rest at His feet, even if I do not hear Him whisper. My spirit will still drink in the glories of His presence and be refreshed, strengthened, and prepared for the day’s battle. To walk gently through His Word gives rest to my heart, mind, and soul.
To achieve true rest, priorities must change. Order must come. An appointed time with my Lord and Savior must not be compromised. Then I will have walked the paths of Christ followers before me and found
that in Him alone will I find the rest I seek even when my world is spinning out of control.
“My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.” Psalm 62:1 NIV
“Where are you finding rest?”
Linking on Saturday for a Thursday meme gives you a little idea of how I let this hectic pace drive me.
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what a great post…I need to learn to rest more.
Good food for thought on this Spiritual Sunday. 🙂 And thanks for your sweet comment earlier this week. No snow to share with you today, but lots of rain 🙂 🙂 🙂 Have a blessed and COOL week. 🙂
Sounds like you are a gal who knows how to feed her soul! Love your blog and look forward to getting to know you!
Sarah~I think we all need to learn how to rest more. It’s a hectic world out there that hungers to devour us by sucking up all of our time.
Mary~I look forward to getting to know you better, too. What a pleasure!
Kaye~Thanks for stopping by. We’ll cool off a little this week, then head up to the high 70s again. But the fruit trees are producing some green again. I will have to post on that.
Karen, glad my blog carries to His arms, my dear friend.
From My Heart to Yours,
Janis
Such wonderful words and we need to take time to feed our souls.
Very good! I curled up in the Lord’s arms resting and reading your blog! Karen
“Time to rest at His feet, even if I do not hear Him whisper.”
Oh so important. I am learning this journey. Thanks for sharing, I came over from Faith Barrista jam.
The word rest draws me like a moth to the flame. In a world of busyness I seek rest in the quiet of my home. Life has changed from my once busy mothering. I think our rest is different for whichever season of life we are in. I so appreciated this post.
Blessings,
Pamela
I love the description you made of the ways you like to rest. We all need to remember how important it is to have these moments of rest in our hurry up world. Hope you’re having a calm unhurried week.
Blessings,
Charlotte
Oh! I just saw your link and am delighted to read your post, Janis. And look how your story strikes a cord with so many. We all long for true rest.
Thank you for joining me on this journey.