A Reminder to Rest

When I slow down to enjoy every mundane moment, my soul feels better rested. I may be a mess physically. I WILL be a mess physically. As I sit here typing these words, I wear sweat pants, a t-shirt stained with spit-up, and the messiest hair bun "unknown" to man.

Physically, I'm a mess and so is the living room and kitchen hiding behind me. We won't even talk about the mountain of dishes covered in chocolate and soaking in water. After waking to feed my baby twice through the night combined with the trouble of going back to sleep, I could certainly use a nap.

But in this mess, I pause, because when both children are napping, I MUST spend time with Jesus and give you these words. I desire to bring hope into your situation today. Today, I hope that you'll attain the same rest my soul experiences though chaos screams behind me, chaos that must be taken care of in a bit, but for now, this is where we both need to be. 

I think Jesus was thinking of the exhausted soul burned out on the daily and mundane when he said, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

In this passage, Jesus isn't saying, "kick up your feet, chill, and do as little work as possible all day long." I mean, who has the luxury of doing that on the daily, right? Rather, Jesus is speaking to the one racing around, burned out on the daily, and he offers rest. He's speaking to the one jumping from one fiery hoop to another while onlookers gaze at her nonstop life and the concerned look on her face as she wonders when the circus will end so she can breathe. And breathe, free from the hectic, the routine, the life.

I've read this passage of scripture a thousand times, have heard it preached from pulpits on multiple occasions. This is one I know by heart, but had never fully digested until now. Perhaps that's because in this season of raising little ones with little time to breathe, I desperately NEED rest more than ever before. But this rest needed is not in the form of relaxation, though I could certainly use any kind of rest afforded. The rest needed is in the form of fulfillment. Hear it again. Fulfillment. It's where my soul receives rest, not necessarily my body. Are you with me? You'll want to remember this next sentence even if the others fly out of your mind.

Jesus offers soul rest, and it's fulfilling. No amount of physical rest, from spa days to couch potato days to sleeping away the days, will ever bring the best rest that comes by way of Jesus.

This is what he's saying to our worn out bodies and worn out souls: "Side with me by taking on the same yoke that I am in, this same harness used for working. The load will be light because I will be right beside you, and you can learn more than you ever have about me in the process, finding the rest that your soul needs to continue on with the difficulty that life brings. Go ahead. Take off the yoke of stress, the yoke of anxiety, the yoke of pressure, the yoke of bondage, etcetera, etcetera. Be meek and lowly with me. Learn what it means to come to the end of yourself physically but be fully rested spiritually. Let's work together, because in doing so, I promise that you will receive rest. Soul rest."

Take a moment, here and now, to consider which yoke you live under. If you're not under a yoke with Jesus, you'll never experience the fulfilling rest that only he offers. And friends, I desperately long for you to experience this rest. 

The Scary Truth of Becoming a Parent

My days blurred together when my first child was born, and the first month of her life was one of the single most difficult months of mine. It required coming to the end of myself in so many ways and in ways I had never experienced before. Those painful feedings throughout the night mixed with the desire to impress my husband with a spotless house, folded laundry, a home-cooked meal, and otherwise left me drained and exhausted. I lived under the false pretense that I could have it all together if everything was all together around me, but instead I suffered burn-out.

I truly wanted to bring joy and rest to my husband, my firstborn, and myself. Instead, my offering became a burden and my attitude became negative. Emotions swirled around me and my husband received the brunt as soon as he made it through the door. Every evening showed my ugly self in some form-the tears, the rants, the throwing myself on the couch, and I'll just leave you with those few details. It was a full on temper-tantrum. Life as I knew it had changed by bringing new life into the world and the change couldn't be described in any amount of words or emotions.

In full attempts to give my best, I gave my worst.

Oh friends, how I wish I would've taken the message so often repeated by loved ones for a season they remembered all too well. "Make sure you rest." Our greatest offering comes when we have allowed ourselves to rest. God himself rested on the seventh day for the greatest offering of all: creation. Yet, I failed to nap when the baby napped because of my running list meant to bring joy and rest.

Our second child later, and we've recently left the newborn phase again. What a difference it has made to carve out intentional time for resting! As soon as my toddler went down for a nap, I fed our baby and then settled in for a nap myself. Dishes piled high, toys spewed on the floor, and laundry sat in the closet. Those things would have to wait. When my husband returned from work, he either brought dinner home or made dinner for us. Afterward, he washed the dishes with our oldest while I fed the baby, and never once with complaint.  I have tears in my eyes as I unfold the beauty of a man who cares for his wife, who loves her without conditions, and who rises to the occasion to offer rest to the one he is one with, the one his soul loves, tenderly cared for as though he were caring for himself (Eph 5: 25-30). Difficult moments occurred, of course, but we were much less stressed and able to enjoy the first month with our sweet second, all because of a little rest and a few tasks left untouched. 

So how do we bring joy and rest to others? First, we recognize the joy in our own lives and we give ourselves time to rest. After that, we ask ourselves how we might bless a friend, a coworker, or a stranger, and we do the thing that brings them the joy and rest that we all need. 

Before you take on the next task in your day, here are some verses to remind you that it's okay to rest. In fact, if you are feeling a bit burned out, I recommend that you forfeit from trying to bring joy and rest to others and carve out a little time to rest yourself. God rested. Jesus offered rest. This rest is critical in every season, especially the ones that bring you to the end of yourself. And now, the scripture as promised on my Facebook video yesterday:

Genesis 2:2-3: God rested on the seventh day and sanctified the day of rest.

Genesis 8:9: A beautiful illustration of Noah offering rest and a safe place for the dove just as Jesus offers us.

Ruth 1:9: Naomi prayerfully offering rest for her daughter-in-laws in their future homes.

Psalm 37:7: A reminder to rest in the Lord.

Isaiah 30:15: Rest is critical.

Matthew 11:28-30: Jesus offers us rest with him.

Luke 23:55-56: The women who prepared the spices for Jesus' body rested.

Revelation 4:8: A powerful image of heavenly beasts who never rest because they are continuously worshiping God. That's a hard one to even picture.

Slowing Down: Creating Art

What if I told you that the mundane tasks in your life were instead paintings in the making, every brushstroke on canvas creating a masterpiece? Would you attempt to slow your pace, giving each task your undivided attention, allowing the painting of your day to unfold beauty, to reach the deepest parts of your soul?

Washing a plate, a stroke of pink. 

Folding a towel, a stroke of blue. 

Walking the dog, a stroke of brown.

Changing a diaper, a stroke of purple. 

Cooking a meal, a stroke of yellow. 

Making the bed, a stroke of green. 

Instead of rushing from one agenda to another, fretting about what you want to do instead of what you NEED to do, could I beckon you to stop? Breathe. Slow your pace. Start again. Command the anxiety wreaking havoc to dissipate. Realize that you were created on purpose, with a purpose, and that the purpose will not prosper with truth until you rid yourself of the belief that the seemingly insignificant, daunting, repetitive, and small is not worth your time. Dear friend, it's worth your time. Slowing down to the things that require your attention from week to week are meant to be lived fully, are meant as displays of art in the center of God's eye. 

God sees you. He sees your painting emerging as you tidy your home. He hears the melody as you hush and hum your infant to sleep for the umpteenth time. He sees the dance of you working frantically to appease both boss and customer. He sees as you sob behind closed doors, later choosing to wipe the tears, continuing the painting, the song, and the dance that is your life.

How I wish I could open up a portal that would allow for you to see him seeing you, his eyes looking lovingly on you, his heart feeling with you, his ears readily listening for you, and his arms always holding you. Instead, I remind you of the intimate words written in Psalm 139 detailing a holy God who knows you on such a personal level, and that you, yes you, are fearfully and wonderfully created and so very precious to him. He's constantly thinking of you. 

So I challenge you to slow down today. Let your next task be an intentional brushstroke, refrain, and curtsy to the Creator of this universe. You were made for this next thing, even in its smallness.