This scene has played out in my home more times
than I can count:
I’ll be trying to accomplish something—put dinner on the
table, take care of a crying child while other kids are asking me questions,
respond to a month-old message from a friend—and my voice pierces through the
crying and clamoring: “I’m trying, I’m working so hard, please just be
patient.” I have a smile on my face, but the tension in my voice and shoulders quickly spreads throughout the room. I know that I'm on the brink of exploding into frustration. Sometimes, the dam breaks and my exhaustion and anger burst out into biting words.
My husband’s voice calls out as he enters the
room. “Do you need to go sit by yourself in your room?”
Good man that he is, he sees through my
attempted charade of patience and handles the situation while I dash down the
hallway for respite. The overstimulation of the moment
begins to dissipate as I let my body and my mind rest. Despite my best efforts,
I struggled to patiently love others when I was wound up and filled with
unrest.
Just moments later, I am refreshed by my rest. I am renewed and once again can care for my children with patience and charity.
While I continue
to fall short of how God calls me to love, it always comes more naturally and easily when
I’m encountering others from a place of rest and peace.
We often refuse to rest or even believe that we
haven’t “earned the right” to rest. All sorts of excuses and objections fly up
that hold us back from experiencing deep, healing rest in God. Yet, the more I explore
this topic in my prayer and work, the more convicted I grow
that rest is absolutely necessary for each and every one of us. While there are
many mental, physical, creative, and professional benefits to regular rest, one
of the most important fruits of rest slammed into my brain only a few months ago: Rest helps us live out the Great Commandment.