#rest | itsawonderfilledlife

Posts Tagged ‘#rest’

Rest

Posted in life, tagged #cometome, #cometomeandiwillgiveyourest, #differentformsofrest, #getcreative, #renewed, #rest, #shutoutdistractions, #springbreak, #weary on March 13, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Spring break has begun for school-aged kids (and school staff) in my area. I always feel this is the most perfectly timed break in the school year, for it pivots us from winter to spring, to the final countdown to summer.

For some this break represents time to travel, for others to visit family and friends, or to read, or sleep late, or explore local restaurants, shops and entertainments and for others to do tasks around the house such as spring cleaning or renovations.

Rest looks different for everyone.

For me, the thought of sitting on the sofa watching TV, packing everyday with social events, or travelling are not the most restful ways to spend time. Don’t get me wrong, I love to visit with friends, to see new sights and to watch a good BCD (British Crime Drama). But, for me, rest is most favorably attained by being creative, physically building, painting and renovating, with no voices other than those of the podcasts teaching me and crime stories. This is pure bliss, restful to my body (though pain relievers are sometimes needed), mind and soul.

My ‘to do’ list this break is … rather sizeable, as I am doing a mini renovation in our kitchen. I have removed a couple of hanging cabinets, built and installed boxes above the existing wall cabinets, added trim, crown molding, removed the old tile backsplash (along with the gyproc). Now I need to replace that gyproc, paint my cabinets and trim, order countertops, paint walls, install lighting and (in the adjoining sunroom) install engineered wood flooring. I know that I will sleep well, be challenged, fill my cup and feel such joy in the finished product.

Rest will not just come to me through the physical work, but also the podcast reading through the Bible (I highly recommend The Bible in a Year with Father Mike Schmitz, which is also available on Youtube), as well as listening to numerous sermons from people who share the Word in diverse, educational and inspirational ways that challenge me to live differently, to walk with Christ each day.

This is the rest I need, the rest I long for. It is an opportunity for me to shut out the distractions, the discouragements, the noise of the world. To get my hands dirty with a taste of the creative, the redemptive work of God, all while being immersed in Him through the reading and teachings from his word.

And so, I approach this renewing time, being reminded of the words in Matthew 11:28 :

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

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Summer Days

Posted in WONDER, tagged #just sit, #justbe, #noproductivitynecessary, #refreshment, #rest, #restwhile, #summerdays, #summerrest on June 22, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Summer has only just begun.

The warmth that beckons shorts, tank tops and bare feet. The shift from indoor work to growing flowers and vegetables. Then there is the break from work, from school (from the pandemic).

It is a season of altered reality, with sometimes tropical temperatures, reshaped schedules, more sunlight, a hiatus from work and rest.

As I sat outside the other evening, after a day of record-breaking temperatures, I did … nothing. Though I’d brought a book and my computer outside to read or write, not one moment of producing, accomplishing was had.

I just sat.

I listened to the (few) cars pass by on a busy roadway, admired the cloudless sky, inhaled the varied scent of so many summer flowers, felt the heat of the air on my skin, like a comforting, weighted blanket. My neighbor was outside watering flowers with his preschooler, my dog snoring in the chair beside me.

I realized that I was relaxed, at ease. Body, mind and soul united with my surroundings. Simply put, I (just) was … and it was good.

As one who likes being in movement, is fueled by productivity, this was a unique and wonderful experience.

Though I was not accomplishing or producing, I felt my inactivity was producing something great … rest was refueling my body, my mind, my soul.

After feeding the five thousand, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” (Mark 6:31)

After a wild day of meeting the needs of others, Jesus taught (by word and example) that refreshment, rest was warranted.

After this past winter, as this pandemic response eases, after a season of restrictions, and challenges, and so little of the things that normally refresh us in the midst of work and routine … this summer is a perfect time for rest.

So, go off by yourselves, to a quiet place and listen to the birds, stop and smell the flowers, look up at the sky and feel the heat warm your skin … and be refreshed.

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Rest

Posted in Faith, life, tagged #createdforrest, #createdtorest, #faithisaconditiontorest, #givingintorest, #rest, #restingod, #restisapromise, #restisthebenefitofredemption, #restofgod on June 13, 2021| Leave a Comment »

As I stood in the kitchen a thought passed through my mind,

I need to sit.

So I walked to my sofa and I sat.

It was a simple, yet odd occasion.

I had a thought. A thought that originated in my body and mind. A thought communicated from my body to my mind. And, without pause, I responded immediately and physically. I gave in to what my body needed.

How is it that such a basic human need was met and yet, it is unique, worth reflecting on, worth writing about?

Our bodies deliver messages to us since our first days. As newborns we cry out our need of food, of discomfort. As children we fall asleep almost in motion, while sitting in our high chairs, car seats, in the sandbox. As teens we pass out while doing homework, we ravage the fridge when hungry. As adults we tend to ignore our needs. We ‘tune out’ the voice within, opting for the voices of could and should. We begin to fit a mold, as opposed to work as body and mind are designed.

Rest is a requirement of our bodies, minds and souls. It is a requirement for our lives. We attain rest not just in sleeping, but in coming away from our work, our mission even, to rest as God himself modelled on day seven of creation. When we seek rest, that rest needs to be rest that we find in God … for resting in Him is where we find complete refreshment.

Walter Kaiser quoted Gerhard Von Rad, in his observation of human rest :

“Among the many benefits of redemption offered to man by Holy Scripture, that of ‘rest’ has been almost overlooked in biblical theology….”

We can see the truth of this in Hebrews 4:1-13. Here’s a few excerpts :

Although God’s promise still stands—his promise that all may enter his place of rest—we ought to tremble with fear because some of you may be on the verge of failing to get there after all. (his rest is a promise … but with a condtion)

For this wonderful news—the message that God wants to save us—has been given to us just as it was to those who lived in the time of Moses. But it didn’t do them any good because they didn’t believe it. They didn’t mix it with faith (faith is the condition).

For only we who believe God can enter into his place of rest. He has said, “I have sworn in my anger that those who don’t believe me will never get in,” even though he has been ready and waiting for them since the world began (belief is a choice we are freely given) …

“Today when you hear him calling, do not harden your hearts against him” (listen … and rest) …

there is a full complete rest still waiting for the people of God. Christ has already entered there. He is resting from his work, just as God did after the creation. Let us do our best to go into that place of rest (to go into is to make the choice, the choice to listen to that still small voice …).

To rest in God is always a choice. It is ours to make. Life does not get easier or better, the realities of life (good and bad, pleasant and horrible) still happen. But, in choosing to rest in God we choose what our bodies, minds and souls most need … are created for.

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Spring Break is in the Air

Posted in life, tagged #covid19, #pandemicyear, #rest, #schoolstaff, #springbreak, #springbreakisintheair on March 12, 2021| 2 Comments »

Never has a spring break been so anticipated by so many.

I recognize that not all have a spring break in their life, through their own work or through the children in their lives. For those who do, my thoughts may reverberate in your own heart and mind.

For some it started a week or two ago, or maybe not for weeks yet. It might be called Spring or March or reading break. It might be just a week, or two.

Whatever it looks like, this break is starting differently than last year’s, when we were introduced to lock down, closures, cancellations and Tiger King as people all over the world were repatriating to their home countries.

Though we Canadian’s are still not jetting off to sunny destinations (lest we would have to quarantine for two weeks upon return to our home country), I think we are thankful that, just like the days of growing daylight, vaccine rollouts are providing the light in the darkness for our constitutions.

For those who work within learning environments, Spring Break this year is particularly appreciated. From teachers, to custodians, to office staff, to educational assistants, to maintenance crews, to bus drivers, to administration this has been a year of stretching, additional responsibilities and fatigue like none other. Then there are the students … who have encountered at least as much change and challenge.

A year ago at home learning was being whispered about, leading to at least two months of zooms, online conferences and all of the technical issues that came with them.

When (many, but not all) classes resumed in the fall, they do so differently. Cohort became a daily used word. Online daily health checks started our days. Physical education and music classes changed significantly (and changed throughout the year). Masks became expected fashion accessories. Sanitize, sanitize, sanitize!

In many school districts, high school schedules changed exponentially from full year or half year semesters to ten week semesters, with only classes each … I even know of a district where students only have one course, for five weeks at a time (think about that … a teacher and their students are together ALL day, EVERY day for five weeks!).

Barriers were brought into the office reception area, parent-teacher interviews were completed by phone, field trips all but a faded memory and many teaching staff (in high schools) have gone without much of a break in one semester or had half a day in another (sounds good on the one hand, but ten weeks of little break from working with students does little to enhance quality of teaching).

All school staff are fatigued of being mask police …

“mask on”
“over the nose too”
“mask on in the hallways”
and, similarly,
“no, you cannot eat in the hallways”

and, believe me, the response is not always compliant or kind.

Then there is Covid itself. Schools all have staff who, themselves, are immunocompromised. For them, going to work could feel like a daily play of Russian roulette. Or those who live with loved ones whose health is equally fragile. The thought of possibly bringing a virus home, that could have much more severe consequences than just a cough and malaise, has been a daily fear.

So, Spring Break, we welcome you, with open arms …

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