Isaiah 30:15; 18
For the Lord God, the Holy One of
Israel, says: Only in returning to me and waiting for me will you be
saved; in quietness and confidence is your strength;
Yet the Lord
still waits for you to come to him so he can show you his love; he will
conquer you to bless you, just as he said. For the Lord is faithful to
his promises. Blessed are all those who wait for him to help them.
The
Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois
60188. All rights reserved.
I think naps are extremely
important – especially for young children. Timothy and Zola are not big
fans of naps. So we take what I call “a little rest”. I tell them,
“You don’t have to sleep…but you do have to lie down and rest for a
while.” Sometimes the “little rest” results in a big nap…but not
always. But at least they have been still and quiet for a few
minutes…and hopefully regrouped and rejuvenated their bodies just a bit.
Patience
has never been my strong suit! If I know there is something that I
must get done, I won’t truly take it easy until it is accomplished. Oh,
sure, I have a long list of “projects” (like organizing my digital
photos) that sit undone. And it may take me days of “talking about”
cleaning or finishing the laundry and ironing before I actually do it!
But a lot of those tasks and ventures loom over me like a cloud until
they are finished. Sometimes, they even “steal my joy”. Never mind a
“bucket list”…I have enough on my “to-do” list as it is! But I am
learning…to knuckle down and accomplish certain tasks – and to let
others go – so that I can truly rest, relax and enjoy every minute of
the day!
Part of my “lesson” is about priorities. Is it really
critical that I scan every old photo my family ever owned and label
them? Yes, it would be nice for future generations to know who the
people are in the photos, but will it affect world peace, global
warming…or the Kingdom of Heaven? Will it make me a better wife, aunt,
daughter, friend, person to accomplish these things? What’s the worst
that could happen if our house is not cleaned on a certain day…or the
ironing doesn’t get done? At some point, we would run out of clothes…but
to date, that has never happened!
Spontaneous walks or
motorcycle rides with Greg on a pretty day are more important than a
neatly organized craft room or an hour spent scanning the “pins” on
Pinterest. Attending the funeral of someone who made a difference in my
life trumps a morning spent sipping coffee and catching up on e-mail
and household chores. By the same token, sometimes other activities are
more important than attending a funeral, like a trip to the park with
Timothy, Zola and Nathan or a long overdue visit with a good friend.
Life is a series of delicate balances.
Things can get out of
whack pretty quickly when we try to handle all of this on our own. And
that’s where God comes into the picture. He says, “Hey you! Yeah…YOU
with the long ‘to-do’ list and the lofty goals and the busy schedule!
Come over here and sit down and let’s talk about this!” God wants us to
spend time in His presence…to consult Him about what matters and what
can wait…to trust His timing and not to get in a hurry at times…to learn
when it is important to forge ahead – and when we need to be patient.”
He wants us to rest…to “chill out” and allow Him room to work on our
behalf.
There are plenty of times when we really do need to be
busy. But there are just as many when we need to be still…to sit and
listen for God’s voice…and to wait on Him to speak to us. God will
remove the “cloud” of “woulda, shoulda, coulda” and replace it with a
sense of His presence, peace, confidence and strength. Won’t you pull
up a chair and sit with Him awhile? What is God trying to show you
today? Aren’t you ready for a “little rest”?
©2014 Debbie Robus
No comments:
Post a Comment