Reclaiming Rest
This past month many of us have been forced to stay home. Not in the manner of physically forced, but in the sense that to stop the pandemic, for public safety, we voluntarily stay home. It’s like we’ve all of a sudden been forced to take a break, take a timeout, forced to let go of certain distractions (although we can always create more for ourselves)...we’ve been forced to rest. At the beginning of this quarantine, it came to my mind to “Reclaim” this time. What does this mean? To me it means space, using this space wisely. Have I done this successfully in the past three weeks? NOT. AT. ALL. but always thankful for God’s patience, this phrase hasn’t left my mind. Instead, I’ve been filling this space with the distractions of the unnecessary. It seems my list never ends, but just keeps filling my time..anyone else with me??
Sometimes we're checking the news updates constantly or keeping ourselves entertained by Netflix, Youtube or any other social media platform. Or maybe figuring out how long until we need more toilet paper. (Side note on the toilet paper frenzy: this is hilarious to me, although I myself like to use toilet paper, it’s important for us to remember much of the world doesn’t use toilet paper and they’re getting along just fine!)
But slowly I'm getting bored with these things as well. What is God trying to tell me? Tell us? Might it be that our souls need some refreshing? And personally, now that some distractions are gone, as I’m not leaving my house, I need to stop distracting myself with other stuff. I need to stop filling this space with other stuff. Instead, I need to meet with God in His presence and RECLAIM this time. Which doesn't mean getting rid of my list, but rather being intentional that my list includes things that refresh my soul. Not to forget about this pandemic which has disrupted everyone’s lives and some more than others. Be it working overtime, risking their own health, or wondering there will be food next week, many need prayers right now. So not forgetting prayer is essential as God is still the One in control.
The question remains, how do we reclaim this time? For everyone that is different, drawing, journaling, nature walking, cooking, doing a hobby, organizing. The point is the motivation behind what we do. Is it refreshing my soul or is it just distracting my eyes from this thing to the next?
The one good thing I’ve done so far is to take time in the afternoons and sit on some steps outside. I’m a nature person, so this puts me out of the direct heat in our 94-degree weather, but able to see the trees in the distance. I turn off my music, silence my phone, and just be, taking a step into slowing down and resting. Slowly this usually turns into a prayer time for me, even if it’s short. But it’s beautiful. In these moments I get an image from one of my favorite poems by Jill Briscoe:
I run to the deep place, where nobody goes, and found Him waiting there.
“Where have you been?” He asks me.
“Well I’ve been in the shallow place, where everyone lives,” I replied. And I knew he knew. He just wanted me to admit I’d been too busy being busy.
“I’m running out...” I began.
“Well of course,” he said, “haven’t seen you in a while.” And he sat down on the steps of my soul, the deep place where nobody goes and smiled at me. Angels sang, a shaft of light chased away the shadows and brightened my daily day.
I smiled back,
“I’m such a fool...” I said.
“Shh,” he said putting his fingers on my lips. He touched my hurried heart. Startled, it took a deep breath and skidded to a near stop. My spirit nestled into nearness in the deep place where nobody goes. And my soul spoke. Then he answered with words beyond music. Where on Earth had I been while heaven waited? Such grace.
How do you do this with kids? I have absolutely no clue. But I want to encourage all of us, to use this time to reclaim our rest and refocus on spending time with the One who is holding us in His hands, finding our resting place with Him. We have to be intentional to do this as finding ways to distract ourselves is much easier..right? I mean picking up my phone is SO EASY. So let’s take on this challenge to be intentional and reclaim this time of rest. Speaking of which, time to go take a rest...
P.S. An encouragement- we aren’t missing Easter this year, it isn’t canceled. Easter still lives and always will!
Sometimes we're checking the news updates constantly or keeping ourselves entertained by Netflix, Youtube or any other social media platform. Or maybe figuring out how long until we need more toilet paper. (Side note on the toilet paper frenzy: this is hilarious to me, although I myself like to use toilet paper, it’s important for us to remember much of the world doesn’t use toilet paper and they’re getting along just fine!)
But slowly I'm getting bored with these things as well. What is God trying to tell me? Tell us? Might it be that our souls need some refreshing? And personally, now that some distractions are gone, as I’m not leaving my house, I need to stop distracting myself with other stuff. I need to stop filling this space with other stuff. Instead, I need to meet with God in His presence and RECLAIM this time. Which doesn't mean getting rid of my list, but rather being intentional that my list includes things that refresh my soul. Not to forget about this pandemic which has disrupted everyone’s lives and some more than others. Be it working overtime, risking their own health, or wondering there will be food next week, many need prayers right now. So not forgetting prayer is essential as God is still the One in control.
The question remains, how do we reclaim this time? For everyone that is different, drawing, journaling, nature walking, cooking, doing a hobby, organizing. The point is the motivation behind what we do. Is it refreshing my soul or is it just distracting my eyes from this thing to the next?
The one good thing I’ve done so far is to take time in the afternoons and sit on some steps outside. I’m a nature person, so this puts me out of the direct heat in our 94-degree weather, but able to see the trees in the distance. I turn off my music, silence my phone, and just be, taking a step into slowing down and resting. Slowly this usually turns into a prayer time for me, even if it’s short. But it’s beautiful. In these moments I get an image from one of my favorite poems by Jill Briscoe:
The Deep Place Where Nobody Goes
By Jill Briscoe
I run to the deep place, where nobody goes, and found Him waiting there.
“Where have you been?” He asks me.
“Well I’ve been in the shallow place, where everyone lives,” I replied. And I knew he knew. He just wanted me to admit I’d been too busy being busy.
“I’m running out...” I began.
“Well of course,” he said, “haven’t seen you in a while.” And he sat down on the steps of my soul, the deep place where nobody goes and smiled at me. Angels sang, a shaft of light chased away the shadows and brightened my daily day.
I smiled back,
“I’m such a fool...” I said.
“Shh,” he said putting his fingers on my lips. He touched my hurried heart. Startled, it took a deep breath and skidded to a near stop. My spirit nestled into nearness in the deep place where nobody goes. And my soul spoke. Then he answered with words beyond music. Where on Earth had I been while heaven waited? Such grace.
How do you do this with kids? I have absolutely no clue. But I want to encourage all of us, to use this time to reclaim our rest and refocus on spending time with the One who is holding us in His hands, finding our resting place with Him. We have to be intentional to do this as finding ways to distract ourselves is much easier..right? I mean picking up my phone is SO EASY. So let’s take on this challenge to be intentional and reclaim this time of rest. Speaking of which, time to go take a rest...
P.S. An encouragement- we aren’t missing Easter this year, it isn’t canceled. Easter still lives and always will!
For today, I did a little drawing of my current resting place, and yes it was refreshing!
Great blog post Jess! I loved reading!
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