Times of Rest

This past weekend was our church's annual prayer retreat. Ryan and I had registered to attend last year, but he got that upper respiratory nightmare and we had to cancel at the last minute. This year, our schedule prevented us from going, but some of my friends went, and I served as their at-home prayer partner throughout the weekend. While it was not overly warm here in Indiana this weekend, it was beautiful, and occasionally I'd get texts from them with pictures of the sun shining over the lake at the retreat center.

Picturesque. Serene. Lovely.

Restful.

Anyone else need some rest around here? My goodness, we sure have. We knew going into 2016 that the first couple of months were going to be busier than normal. We knew that commitments we made even before the year began would demand much of us as a couple, and that was okay. Sometimes it's easier to tackle a busy season when you have prior warning that it's coming. But knowing merely helps you brace. It doesn't help you rest.

So in the busyness, we've been forced to find creative ways to rest. We've made adjustments here and there to our schedule and temporarily put aside things we normally do so we can spend that time giving our bodies and souls the rest they crave.

I used to find my satisfaction in having the longest list of accomplishments. The fattest scrapbook. The fullest calendar. And while I still like those things, I'm finding a renewed satisfaction in times of rest. The moments in which nothing is scheduled and yet everything is refreshed.

Yesterday after Ryan and I came home from church, we just settled in on the couch and rested. It's not unusual for us to take a Sunday afternoon nap, but this day wasn't so much about just napping as it was about finding soul and body rest. And it was heavenly.

It reminded me of my college days, actually. I grew up in a home where my parents both practiced and taught complete rest on Sundays. No work of any kind happened on Sundays. No laundry, no cleaning, no homework, no lawn mowing - just rest. And when I went to college, I decided to take the practice with me. So every Sunday, while my roommates crammed for tests and read textbooks, I curled up with the remote or a book. I did my nails and talked on the phone. And in those things I found rest for my soul. The same kind of rest Ryan and I fight to find now in the rare free moments we have in our days.

The rest matters. God knows you need it, which is why He wrote a day of rest into each week. So for you, whether it's sitting by a lake or taking a nap on the couch or going for a walk...find your rest. Your soul and body need it.