Take a break....
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Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. Mark 6:31
This is the third day I have been home with a sick child this week. My normally active self is so ready for some outside interactions.
I went to Wal-Mart yesterday to get my sick little girl some popsicles and I may as well have been given a ticket to Hawaii. It felt so good to walk out the door and breathe in the fresh smell of sunshine, people, and even Wal-Mart.
The few minutes I had outside of the house gave me a little perspective on some things. As I lingered a little too long just soaking in being outside of my four walls, I watched the people around me. Hustling around. Grabbing their items, walking hurriedly, getting their stuff done.
Usually, that would be me. On the go, go, go, go, go. No time to pause. No time to stop. No time to look around me.
However, when illness strikes, we are forced to be still. To pause. To rest.
We think we have so little time in our day, until we are faced with a lot of sitting. A lot of resting.
Suddenly, we realize we have a whole lot of time.
My daughter must have asked me a million times yesterday, "What time is it?". The days are long when you are stuck at home. Oh so long. She even said the words I have never heard her utter, "I am sick of watching t.v. I need a break from it, Mom."
In times of stillness, we see the length and breadth of a day. It is a lot longer than we think it is.
This time at home has forced me to pause. To rest. To do more laundry than I ever knew was possible. And, you could eat off my floors. A rare occurrence.
It has also enabled me to write more. Which I love to do. However, my days are usually so full, I tell myself, "I will write when I have some down time." Ha.
We do actually have time to do the things we love to do. The things that make our hearts beat faster. The things that bring JOY to us and the life of others.
It is not time that we are short on, it is stillness that we lack.
Stillness enables us to see our lives more clearly. When we are running around constantly, our lives are a dizzying array of movement. It's hard to see things clearly when we are constantly in motion.
I think about the life of Jesus. He had a busy ministry, yes. But, Jesus knew the importance of rest. He made a point to go away from the crowds and rest with His Father.
Or, how about the life of Paul. He wrote several of his most powerful letters that are in the New Testament as he was sitting in a Roman prison.
Perhaps we should follow their lead. Well, not the prison part.
Has it been a while since you took a pause? A rest?
Maybe it's time.
I promise life will go on as you rest. The world will not stop. And, you will come back refreshed and able to pour out more to your people.
taking a pause,
jill
