Jesusluvsall's Blog

Sometimes I daydream about being at the beach in a hammock like in the picture, but I am fully aware it is only a daydream. I think after a half hour I would start to feel restless and look for something to do such as trying to meet people.

Rest is something that isn’t always on my agenda. Even if there is something rest would help me with such as my recent injury to my shoulder. I have always been this way. When I was twelve years old and playing football, I was a starter on defense for a team that won the city championship that year. In the 4th game I injured my elbow and had to go the the ER. I hated missing game time the next two weeks. The final game came and I told my parents and coach my elbow felt good. I did things to prove it. It wasn’t 100% more like 70% better but I wanted in that championship game. I played most of the game but aggravated the injury to the point my grandfather had to cut my food at Thanksgiving dinner that year. However, we won the game, finished undefeated and in that final game I had several tackles 🙂

On Friday I had an appointment with my young friend from Brazil to teach her English at my church, The same student I met with right after I injured my shoulder. I came home from my morning class Friday and received a message from the pastor whose family she is staying with. He let me know she wasn’t feeling well and needed to stay home. His message ended with, “Maybe that will give you time to rest.” My first reaction was like twelve year me who wanted to get right back into things.

Rest? I sometimes take a brief nap if I am really tired, but that isn’t necessarily rest. Our bodies, spirits, and minds do need rest at times.

Jesus spoke of giving rest to our souls if we come to him in Matthew 11:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”

In the creation story, God rested on the seventh day. He didn’t take a nap. His work of creation was finished and he enjoyed his beautiful artwork of creation.

So after a few moments of trying to figure out someone to visit and reach out to, it hit that maybe it was an opportune time to take time for myself. I spent time in the afternoon listening to worship music, reading blogs, and relaxing at home. I read a little more and watched shows on Netflix.

Saturday morning I met with a student at church, stopped by the store, and spent the afternoon and evening repeating what I had done Friday.

This morning I will be at church and then spend time with friends from Iran, but the evening will take time to relax. Rest helps the body heal, helps refresh us mentally and spiritually. For me the trick is slowing down to rest and relax. It is okay to occasionally take a little time to refresh.

Tomorrow it is back to full schedule 🙂

Thank you for reading. God Bless.