Taking Time to Rest
We all need rest from time to time. One of my favorite times of the year is in September, the anniversary of my wedding. For years now (38 to be exact), my husband and I have taken this time of the year to get away, find rest and to reflect on the beautiful life given to us. Sometimes, we go on long getaways and sometimes it is just a short one.
This past weekend, it was a short one, as we celebrated our 38th anniversary. Over the years, I have come to realize that the amount of time away is not what is relevant, whether it is 2 weeks, 7 days or 1 night, the important thing is taking time to rest and rejuvenate.
We enjoy staying in authentic Bed and Breakfast establishments and over the past several years, we have made that our Anniversary tradition. The thing that I like about B&B’s is that the Innkeepers go all out to ensure that your time with them is a restful experience. The extra touch, like putting bubbles next to the bath, playing calm music in the den, putting cold drinks in the small refrigerator in the hall, putting fresh flowers and chocolates in your room, all send a message that they want your stay to be calm and refreshing.
Truth is, all of us can get wound up pretty tight when we don’t learn to rest once in awhile. We need to not only take care of our own emotional state of mind but we need to tend to our relational state of our marriages and find time for rest spiritually. I heard a preacher once say, “If you don’t come apart, you WILL come apart.” In other words, we all need to step away for a minute and rest and reflect.
Even God rested.
”By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.” (Genesis 2:2
Why did God have to rest? It didn’t happen that He had to, but He chose to. His example of taking time to rest would later show up in the Ten Commandments for us to follow.
”but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners among you.” (Exodus 20:10)
So basically, God is asking us to take one day out of seven to put out of our minds the daily grind of work and find rest in Him. Working 6 days and resting 1 day can help us stay balanced. Can’t we all use some balance with our emotions and in our relationships with each other and with God?
Taking a day to rest with God is much like our anniversary getaways; first of all, it is a choice that we make to take the time away and secondly, it doesn’t matter which day we take, as long as we take a day to rest and reflect on God and His blessings.
I know you are busy, but slow down and take time to rest!
BLESSINGS. Laurie
@copyright2019 laurieadams
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In the rest, I find I can hear God more vividly.
Yes Luwana, I need to slow down so I can hear God because my busyness sometimes drowns out His voice.
Happy belated anniversary, Laurie. I agree, we do need to rest and reflect, otherwise we are no use to others around us.
Thank you Iris and yes you are right, when I get so drained and tired out, God cannot use me in my full potential.