Return to Rest

“Our lives get loud.  Our days get noisy.  Make space for quiet.”

Loren Thornburg

Personal retreats are my new favorite tradition.  I don’t realize how loud my life gets and how tired I am until I step away from all of the noise that is my life.  There is something about getting out of my normal environment away from distractions that brings a peace I didn’t know I needed.  These retreats often begin with a nice long nap.  It’s the nap that tells me I’ve been really tired and I was too busy to realize it.  In addition to lots of rest I also read and remember.  I love to look back over the last year and see where I was and how I’ve changed.  The reading, resting and remembering brings the refreshment I need.  The trick is making space for time away.  Whether it’s a few hours or a few days, it’s hard to do.  You have to plan around it or something else will get planned.  Our lives get loud.  Our days get noisy.  Make space for quiet.  

“...Relax and rest. God has showered you with blessings.  Soul, you’ve been rescued from death; Eye, you’ve been rescued from tears;  And you, Foot, were kept from stumbling.”

Psalm 116:7 Message

I love this invitation to rest and remember.  As we rest in who God is and all that He has done refreshment is sure to follow.  Our culture places such a value on doing and productivity that we miss this invitation and decide it’s not as valuable as the invitation to be busy.  Being idle is often viewed as a waste of time, yet God asks us to rest.  David gives us an example of what that looks like here in the Psalm.  He is intentional to remember the blessings of God.  You’ve been rescued from death, tears and stumbling.  Rest in the ways God has showered you with blessings.  Relax in Him, your Father, who takes such good care of you.  He is inviting you to rest.  He calls you to remember.  Let’s follow David and take time away to relax and rest with the Lord.  How have you been rescued and blessed?