A Time to Rest

  "And He said to them, 'Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while." Mark 6:31

  

Rest is a precious commodity around my home. With three children, homeschooling, housecleaning, and other responsibilities rest isn't something that just happens whenever I feel like it. However, this past weekend my husband and I were blessed to enjoy a precious full twenty-four hours of rest...no children, no ministry....just rest. We celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary so it was a special time to sit back and reflect on all that has transpired those years and the growth that we see in each other. We didn't go anywhere super special. We ate out, watched a movie, and stayed at home. However, the time together was the special part of it. Time to pray, reflect, love, and rest. Rest knowing that God has brought us through many storms and though we have taken our eyes off Jesus, and began to sink like Peter when he treaded water, Jesus has rescued us. He has picked up the broken pieces and turned them into something that neither of us ever imagined.

Yes, rest is good. God rested on the seventh day after creation and He's God after all!!! 

"Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made." Genesis 2:3

Jesus knew that we needed time to pray and rest which is why He set that example for us. The Gospels tell of times He would go by Himself to pray and not for a few minutes either....hours and hours at times. Sometimes you can get so busy with life that you don't take the time to see what's around you. You can be so busy looking to the future that you don't see what you've come through or where you are right now.

I'm so thankful that we took time to rest. I'm thankful that God has given us this precious gift and that we don't have to feel guilty about it. In fact, He encourages it! It's kind of like how naptime at my home used to go. The children are tired and I know they are tired because they are crying, whining, fighting, and just in a bad mood. They are burnt out and in need of some serious R&R. I encourage...actually insist....that they take a nap. An hour or more later and there are happy, relaxed, peaceful children running around again. How thankful our home is! How much more does God applaud when we listen to Him and get the rest He knows we need. The rest that He, if you only ask, will provide.