This all started with being sick with pneumonia and learning about rest. REST. The importance of it with an emphasis on the definition found in a Bible Dictionary: suffer to be lacking.
That's one of those killer concepts. Accept the imperfection. Let it go. Stop. Rest.
I'm not advocating turning to a permanent vegetative state, this is about resting periodically. Knowing how to let go. Finding out what it even means to rest. It's one thing to cease from activity but it's another to get the mind and emotions to come along. That's where the letting go part comes in.
As I was driving through our local farm fields recently, appreciating the freshly turned earth ready for seed and the promise of a new crop, I was reminded of another definition of rest: allow to lay fallow.
According to the online Dictionary, fallow ground is: "land left unseeded after being plowed and harrowed to regain fertility for a crop." So while the earth is untouched, it renews itself, it rejuvenates, it is getting ready for the future (Don't tell me there isn't a God who is love in charge here). It reminds me of the scientific discoveries being made about sleep and its important role in rejuvenation.
As a side note, I have seen in my own little garden that when the earth is left untouched for a season, it forms a crust and settles. It doesn't look its best I always think, not its most promising. Apparently the reality is quite the opposite. What a lesson in not judging by the appearance.
So rest, I am learning, is God's opportunity to renew us, to repair and prepare us for what lies ahead.
You know, since only He knows what really lies ahead, He is uniquely qualified for the job. Rest is growing on me.
No comments:
Post a Comment