Finding Rest

Our 3 year old son, Kyle, has recently started nursery school, which is really quite tiring for him. When he returns home he’s too tired to want to go to the shops or the park, or to take part in our usual fun activities, or tell me everything I want to know about what happened at nursery.

I soon learned what Kyle needed. Now he knows he can come home and rest, without the pressure of me asking endless questions about what happened at nursery school that day, what he wants for lunch and what he wants to do in the afternoon. Even better than that, he wants to rest with me and I’m delighted each time I hear the words, “Mummy. Snuggle time!” It’s a time for us to be together... to sit with each other, snuggled under a blanket if it’s a bit chilly, watching a fun DVD and not demanding anything of one another.

Initially, as much as I loved these times with Kyle, I found myself thinking what ‘useful’ things I could have been doing with the time. I could have been cleaning, responding to emails, preparing a meal - anything that was ‘doing’.

I suddenly understood that rest was something I needed too. Not to just sit and ‘do’ quietly (e.g. checking my email), but to allow myself time to sit and enjoy the love and warmth of my son, and just be together, knowing that the precious time would come to an end and I would once again carry on with the duties of the day.

Surprisingly (or maybe not!) it’s on the days that we spend such time together that the rest of the day goes amazingly well, and I’m less likely to spend time praying, “God help me!” Just finding these times of rest is enough to set my daily life on to a foundation of peace.

We so often find ourselves feeling burdened or weary, pressured by our daily lives that contain unending communications, jobs to do, people to see or call, and things to organise. We cry out to God for help and continue in our busy ways. Yet we fail to see the first few words of this Scripture, “Come to me”. We live in our continual state of pressure and expect God to come to us in that, rather than actually stop, go to Him and find the rest that comes from just being. Not trying to resolve the issues, not trying to negotiate with God a way through them, but to simply enjoy being at peace with Him and with those around us.

Prayer: Father God, help me learn to come to You for rest and not continue in my busy life without finding time to simply be with You and with those I love. Help me find a foundation of peace not pressure, a peace that comes from simply loving You and being loved by You. Amen.