Greetings my beloved classmates! We are well into the summer months and are enjoying our vacation, anticipating our vacation or wishing that we had a vacation. In the busy, pressure-cooker lives that some of us live; vacations may seem like a luxury or something that we do when things slow down sufficiently. If we are thus convinced, please read on and reconsider this posture.
In the rhythm of life, rest has an important place. In John 6:15 Jesus withdrew from the crowd and His disciples to be by himself. He withdrew to a mountain. In Luke 5:16 we are told that he frequently withdrew into the wilderness to pray. A change of pace and a change of scenery can do wonders for the mind, body, and soul. On the other hand, lack of rest can do some scary things to us on multiple levels.
One of the hardest working man that I knew had a healthy respect for rest. He was a family man who owned two businesses, had livestock, farmed his ground and did masonry and carpentry work from time to time. Every Sunday afternoon he had a “siesta time”…an extended time of sleeping. He also would take an annual trip to Dominica around his birthday to spend time in a hotel resting, reading and praying. He obviously knew the value of rest and how it adds to rather than subtracts from healthy living and productivity.
Many persons believe that they are getting ahead by ignoring the need for rest. This is folly! It reminds me of a saying one of my professors often quoted. “The hurry-ider (faster) I go, the behind-er I get.”
It may not be easy, but please plan to vacate. Get some rest. Recharge the batteries and come back stronger, better, kinder, wiser, more willing and more able. In the meantime, build some rest into your daily and weekly rhythm.
Some words from a hymn:
There is a place of quiet rest,
Near to the heart of God…
A place where sin cannot molest,
Near to the heart of God.
There is a place of comfort sweet,
Near to the heart of God,
A place where we our Savior meet,
Near to the heart of God.
Blessings always,
From: Your servant Walton Frederick
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