Rest

one of my early watercolors...

The last few weeks have been interesting: was down with pneumonia (no worries, am getting better or wouldn't be blogging).  I learned something though: a little bit about REST. 

Being no couch potato, the idea of doing nothing but read or watch tv is foreign to me. I cannot abide it  while there's daylight with so much to do. However I had so little energy, my options were limited, so I read a lot. And did some thinking. It turned into a discovery. 

I looked up the word REST. Of all the definitions, the one that stood out to me this time was this: "suffer to be lacking"... Think about it.  

It was fairly easy to stop all my activity because I was really sick and had little energy and no choice about it but inwardly it was easy because I felt a sense of the presence of the Lord in my illness. So first of all I wasn't worried and secondly it made me surrender more easily. It actually gave me comfort and even joy. I read about rest. God Himself rested and, I noticed again, He insists that we do too, and regularly. The whole idea of setting aside Sunday comes to mind but I think there's more to it. Sabbath Rest.  Stop. Desist. Let go. Stop. Stop. Let it go. 

The immediate reaction is "No I can't! This and that needs to be finished or developed or undertaken! I can't!!" there's an endless list. 

Stop. It's not about my performance. It's not even about what I can make of something (remember Cain). It's not about what I can do. Stop. Rest from all that pressure. Let it go. That's what I heard. So I thought I'd pass it on. I'm sure it's good for my health on a cellular level. I can feel it. Inside. Letting go. Accept, suffer if I must, but accept that I am lacking. Just accept it ok? I'm not perfect but it's ok I don't have to fix it. He's got it covered. I feel stress melting away a little. I like it. Rest. Go ahead and work but takes times to rest. Stop. Let it go. Again and again. 

So I want to thank God for this pneumonia but then I think, is that right? I mean did He give me Pneumonia? Honestly, I can't figure that one out so you know what, it's ok, I'll just let it go. That's it. I got it. Rest.