Restless.
“Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee..” St. Augustine
There's a certain comfort in visiting grandma! Every once in awhile when we can slow down from the hectic pace of life, we load up the car and drive an hour south. I enjoy these moments of peace amidst the chaos and love the simple quiet time we often share in the relaxing retirement community.
This Saturday, we blocked a chunk of time to make our way off the merry-go-round and down to visit with grandma! A simple drive, my eyes fought to stay awake as we listened to the music and swerved through the cars. Shortly after pulling into the perfectly put together neighborhood, we made our way back out again. We visited my grandpa who is now living in a home nearby. We hugged him softly, and cherished his presence. We hung pictures on his walls as my tummy growled. After a yummy lunch and some errands run, we headed back to the haven of grandma's living room.
The second my body hit the couch, I knew I was in trouble. The whole morning I'd been fighting off fatigue and with the soft cushions underneath me, my body couldn't resist it anymore. A half an hour later, I woke up, thirty minutes gone on the clock and the feeling that I was refreshed.
Naps are a funny thing! When you're a kid, you hate them. And as an adult, well if you're anything like me, you cherish them.
There's something so amazing about being able to shut out the world and drift off to sleep in the middle of the afternoon. And while these naps are few and far between, every time I allow myself the twenty minutes of rest, I think, "I should do that more often."
I never ever do. My days are so busy and I always fear that if I let myself fall asleep, I will somehow be losing precious time. The seconds I spend sleeping on the couch, could be used to get something done. And napping in my mind is wasting the day.
However, our bodies were designed to require rest! That's why we go to sleep every night. We need the time to restore ourselves before the new day. Have you ever pulled an all nighter? You don't exactly feel ready to conquer the world the next day, do you? When our bodies are not well rested, they do not function as they should. We start to get giddy or agitated and we lose focus. Things that do not usually bother us start to become a bigger deal than they should and we make stupid mistakes. Bottom line, our bodies require rest. We need it.
We always hear this idea when it comes to faith too. We are restless, our hearts are restless, until they rest in God. But what does this notion mean? What is it to rest in God? Like a nap lets us close our eyes to the world for a brief moment, resting in God can provide us with the very same shelter. To rest in God is to leave behind the world and be consumed by His presence.
There is a certain peace that comes across us when we sleep. We no longer need to worry about the woes of the day or the struggles of the future. There's nothing for us to do but just give into the sand man and rest. And it has become more and more evident that the love of God, which we yearn to rest in, is so much the same. What does it mean to rest in God? It means to surrender, to trust, to let go of the world around you and just be. We spend so much time asking God, and telling Him, and begging for advice. But we never stop and just rest. We never let our hearts the refreshment they need to wake up and conquer the new.
We can run, and run, and run, and keep ourselves energized with coffee and cokes, but our bodies will still be hurting. We can spend so much time with God and turn to Him with all our struggles and successes. But, our souls will still be restless. What we need is rest. We need those quiet moments where we leave behind everything that's holding us back or compelling us forward and take a second off the merry-go-round to just BE in the love of Christ.
Naps are amazing, and so is God's love. Sometimes, in our crazy lives, we feel like if we slow down we might miss something. But, if we stop and rest, sometimes we find the very thing we were missing. Rest better prepares us for whatever lies ahead. Sometimes, all you need is a quick ten minute refresher to change your perspective on everything.
Let your soul surrender to the escape that is found in the arms of our God. Turn to His love, not searching or planning or asking, but just being. You do not have to solve all your problems or change the world in every moment. Those things will still be there later. Take a break and rest in God. REST in His love. Resting, it may seem like it is wasting time, but the truth is, you might just find the most beautiful things in the midst of your moments of rest! After all, when you rest, you dream!
There's a certain comfort in visiting grandma! Every once in awhile when we can slow down from the hectic pace of life, we load up the car and drive an hour south. I enjoy these moments of peace amidst the chaos and love the simple quiet time we often share in the relaxing retirement community.
This Saturday, we blocked a chunk of time to make our way off the merry-go-round and down to visit with grandma! A simple drive, my eyes fought to stay awake as we listened to the music and swerved through the cars. Shortly after pulling into the perfectly put together neighborhood, we made our way back out again. We visited my grandpa who is now living in a home nearby. We hugged him softly, and cherished his presence. We hung pictures on his walls as my tummy growled. After a yummy lunch and some errands run, we headed back to the haven of grandma's living room.
The second my body hit the couch, I knew I was in trouble. The whole morning I'd been fighting off fatigue and with the soft cushions underneath me, my body couldn't resist it anymore. A half an hour later, I woke up, thirty minutes gone on the clock and the feeling that I was refreshed.
Naps are a funny thing! When you're a kid, you hate them. And as an adult, well if you're anything like me, you cherish them.
There's something so amazing about being able to shut out the world and drift off to sleep in the middle of the afternoon. And while these naps are few and far between, every time I allow myself the twenty minutes of rest, I think, "I should do that more often."
I never ever do. My days are so busy and I always fear that if I let myself fall asleep, I will somehow be losing precious time. The seconds I spend sleeping on the couch, could be used to get something done. And napping in my mind is wasting the day.
However, our bodies were designed to require rest! That's why we go to sleep every night. We need the time to restore ourselves before the new day. Have you ever pulled an all nighter? You don't exactly feel ready to conquer the world the next day, do you? When our bodies are not well rested, they do not function as they should. We start to get giddy or agitated and we lose focus. Things that do not usually bother us start to become a bigger deal than they should and we make stupid mistakes. Bottom line, our bodies require rest. We need it.
We always hear this idea when it comes to faith too. We are restless, our hearts are restless, until they rest in God. But what does this notion mean? What is it to rest in God? Like a nap lets us close our eyes to the world for a brief moment, resting in God can provide us with the very same shelter. To rest in God is to leave behind the world and be consumed by His presence.
There is a certain peace that comes across us when we sleep. We no longer need to worry about the woes of the day or the struggles of the future. There's nothing for us to do but just give into the sand man and rest. And it has become more and more evident that the love of God, which we yearn to rest in, is so much the same. What does it mean to rest in God? It means to surrender, to trust, to let go of the world around you and just be. We spend so much time asking God, and telling Him, and begging for advice. But we never stop and just rest. We never let our hearts the refreshment they need to wake up and conquer the new.
We can run, and run, and run, and keep ourselves energized with coffee and cokes, but our bodies will still be hurting. We can spend so much time with God and turn to Him with all our struggles and successes. But, our souls will still be restless. What we need is rest. We need those quiet moments where we leave behind everything that's holding us back or compelling us forward and take a second off the merry-go-round to just BE in the love of Christ.
Naps are amazing, and so is God's love. Sometimes, in our crazy lives, we feel like if we slow down we might miss something. But, if we stop and rest, sometimes we find the very thing we were missing. Rest better prepares us for whatever lies ahead. Sometimes, all you need is a quick ten minute refresher to change your perspective on everything.
Let your soul surrender to the escape that is found in the arms of our God. Turn to His love, not searching or planning or asking, but just being. You do not have to solve all your problems or change the world in every moment. Those things will still be there later. Take a break and rest in God. REST in His love. Resting, it may seem like it is wasting time, but the truth is, you might just find the most beautiful things in the midst of your moments of rest! After all, when you rest, you dream!
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