Rest

I have it pretty good... I have a family who loves on me, friends who live life with me, and a husband who puts up with me.  But recently I have realized how lucky I am to add one more thing to that list... a church that supports and encourages me!

Twice a month the preschool ministry holds Mom Time, a time where mothers of preschool aged children get together, eat lunch, fellowship with one another, and hear a message.  It is always great to sit and chat with my sweet mommy friends and get some encouraging words, but today was especially nice.  Dr. Emily Prevost, a minister that works for the Baptist General Convention, spoke on Sabbath Rest.  Initially I thought this would just be a so-so subject... nothing too special.  Oh, how my sweet Lord loves to catch me off guard!  

I always knew that God commands us to "Honor the Sabbath by keeping it holy."  It fits in there right along with "Honor they mother and father", "Thou shalt not steal", and "Thou shalt not murder".  Those all make sense.  But honestly, I kinda thought this whole Sabbath commandment was kinda old school.  How many people do you know actually REST on the weekend?  For me, the weekend usually means time that I have "back up" (as another mom refered to it as today) and can get things done without a sweet little drool king glued to my hip.  Micah and I normally start off the weekend thinking we do not have much to do and then stop on Sunday night wondering what the heck happened to our "uneventful" weekend.  And, typically, I am anything but rested... I am pretty sure I am no where close to keeping the Sabbath holy.

We, along with the rest of creation, were created to follow along with the natural rhythm of life.  The waves come in, the waves come out.  The sun rises, the sun sets.  The animals rise and search for food, the animals go to sleep.  We, too, were made to follow this rhythm, but we were also the only ones who were given a choice.  We can choose to neglect our need for rest and nourishment (both physical and emotional) and instead feed our need to be constantly DOING.  I am so guilty of this.  I am pretty good at getting my sleep... for those of you that know me, I am pretty much useless without it.  However, I often neglect the need to get spiritual and emotional rest.  I do, do, do... then sleep... then do, do, do all over again.  I forget to set time aside to spend time with those that I love, to have quiet time with my sweet Jesus, and to be still.  If I lay down to take a nap, I spend the first 30 minutes of my "nap" thinking about all the things I should be doing instead.  If I sit down with my Bible, I find myself half way down the page not having a clue of what I have just read and making a grocery list in my head. I can't turn it off!

The more I heard Emily talk, the more envious I became of her understanding of the spiritual discipline of keeping the Sabbath holy.  Unrepentive naps.  Ceasing. Worshiping.  Fellowship.  Feasting.  Playing.  Doesn't all of that sound heavenly?! It sounds like such a luxury!  But then I realized, God wants us to be able to enjoy all the gifts He has given us, and I can't sit still long enough to do so.  He wants us to rest so that we can be healthy and able to do His work.  He wants us to give Him our worries for once and not try to control life.  He wants us enjoy fellowship with one another... laughing, playing, and talking.  He wants us to eat and feast and fuel up for the work He has planned for us. But, if we are too busy or too tired or to stressed to even be still, we will never enjoy these gifts.  One day a week, God asks us to just take a step back and appreciate all that He is and all that He has done. 
"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."  Matthew 11:28-30, THE MESSAGE

I am encouraged.  I feel refreshed just THINKING about a day of rest.  I want Noah to know what it is like to be feel like it is OK to take a break from the stress of life to laugh... to play... and to give thanks to God for His creation. 


XOXO,
~The Grant Gang