Time For Rest

Summer is the perfect time to rest. But maybe not in the way you normally define it.

Life has rhythms, a time to work, a time to play, a time to rest. For most of us working and playing come fairly naturally. We have those rhythms down pat. But resting? Resting is different. Real rest is more than catching up on some needed sleep or stopping what you’ve been doing and putting your feet up for a little bit with a cool drink, or taking a trip or vacation.

Real rest comes from the idea of restoration. It is much more than just physical rest. It is matter of being deliberate in allowing not only your body, but your mind and your soul and your spirit, to relax, to renew, to refresh, to be restored.

In her classic book Gift From The Sea Anne Morrow Lindbergh explores the rhythms the sea teaches us. As a wife and mother of 5 children she knows well of work and play, but had to learn how to create the rhythm of rest, to steal away for some renewal so as to return a better wife, mother, daughter, friend. Written 50 years ago it’s message is timeless, it is every bit as pertinent to our lives today as it was back then…maybe even more so.

One of your Two Chums favorite verses in the Bible is based on the concept of knowing how to use this rhythm of rest and is simultaneously responsible for creating it. Psalm 46:10 admonishes us to “Be still” and know that He is God. It is in that knowing that the weight of life struggles are lifted and real rest can begin when we learn how to “be still”.

If resting is a concept you struggle to engage with, or are uncertain as to how to create it in your life, but know you need it, pick up a copy of Gift From The Sea from Amazon or your local book store. It is a quick read but can have profound and lasting effects. Keep it on your bookshelf or your bedside table and when you need a reminder to stop and rest, or to give yourself permission to create some rest, pick it up and read it again…and again…and again and find that place of renewal, refreshment and restoration you long for.

Finding rest in the midst of the busyness of life will bring more love, more joy and far more abundance to your life than you can imagine. Get this book and read it. Maybe today is a good time to start.