Rest
“Most of
the things we need to be most fully alive never come in busyness.
They grow in rest.”
Mark
Buchanan (The Holy Wild: Trusting the Character of God)
Shelly Miller, in her
book, Rhythms of Rest, wrote: “Rest provides fine-tuning for
hearing God's message amidst the static of life.” It reminded
me of a particular scene from my childhood—of when my dad decided
to apply tethers to the TV antenna on the roof of our house, so that
he could turn it from the ground to get the best signal. It was quite
a process. We would raise a window for communication. One person
would stay at the TV, another by the window, with Daddy, in his faded
work clothes and three-days-growth on his face, outside maneuvering
the antenna. It involved a lot of shouting, “Almost, almost, that's
it! Much better!” Then he would come inside and fine tune with
dials on the set to get the best possible picture. My grandmother,
Mayda, had a little black and white television that was not connected
to an outside antenna, but she created a fan of aluminum foil and
attached it to the antenna sticking up from the back of her TV. I
guess the idea was that the broader expanse of metal would pull in
more signal. I honestly don't understand the mysteries of television
and radio waves, but these memories make me smile.
When we take the time to
ponder, allow our minds to wander, sweet images come through. What
they require is undivided time; no multitasking, only quiet mind. In
other words, rest. We Americans tend to avoid rest at all cost. We
consider ourselves resting if we pop an action thriller into the TV and
sit on the sofa gobbling popcorn. God forbid that we should do
nothing, or that we should be alone with our thoughts. One of my
favorite times of day is when I first wake and just lie in bed and
let my thoughts collect. Sometimes there's a dream to be parsed,
sometimes plans for the day, sometimes the blog topic will present
itself. These moments, when the body is still at rest, but the mind
is awake, are particularly clear and creative.
Today is Sabbath. As I've
said before, the day of rest is a commandment, and not a request or a
suggestion. It may be for our own good, but it is also a necessary
slow-down in the rhythm of our busy lives to allow Spirit to get a
word in—a rare opportunity to listen instead of do. I hope you will
make time today to sit down, preferably outside, and watch the funny little dance that the leaves do, listen to the birds singing, and just be still. Refresh you
soul.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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