Reflective Rest

Throughout our entire lives we are told of the importance of rest. Our physical bodies need at least 7-8 hours of rest every night in order to properly function, but too often we neglect to give our spirit the rest it needs. In six days God created the heavens and the earth and on the seventh day, even GOD rested. “Come away with me for a little while to a quiet place and get some rest” says the Lord. God knows that we fill our lives with busyness and that we get weary and so desperately need to rest.

Rest, rest, rest. Maybe you view “resting” as a waste of time—precious time that you cannot afford to throw away on mindless activity. After all, there is still so much to be done. Lately I feel that God is calling me not to so much “Do” but to “Be.” Let me explain. I have been working through a devotional called Answering God’s Call to Quiet and today’s message was all about reflective rest. In other words, resting while reflecting on the past. It inspired me to look at resting in a new light. When we reflectively rest, we recall the past and some of its lessons. Even more, reflectively resting provides a time and place for us to remember God’s goodness to us, His provision, even through dark times, and His extravagant love for us. “Wait a minute!” you may be thinking. “I am not going back to my painful past. My life was filled with sorrow and disappointment. Why on earth would I want to reflect about that?” Let me inspire you with some words of wisdom by the author, Neva Coyle. No matter how painful your past may have been, reflection is often the best way to realize that it is only by God’s mercy that some of us have survived at all. It is absolutely necessary to remind ourselves of circumstances that could have, in all actuality, completely destroyed us, but didn’t. We have to remind ourselves that God, in His mercy, saw us through, brought us out, and lifted us up. The mere fact that you are reading this today means that you survived your past, your pain, and you are alive today. Regardless of how you may feel your life has been up to the present point, the fact remains that God has seen you through. You are here now, and because of His great love you have not been consumed.

When we take the time to reflect on our lives, we can evaluate where we have been and where we go from here. When filtered through God’s perspective, we can now see the lessons we learned along the way. The very thing we thought would destroy us actually strengthened us while transforming our character. Often it is only in looking back that we gain strength to move forward because we can now see God’s involvement in our yesterdays. This gives us the strength we need to face tomorrow, no matter what may come.

When I take the time to reflect on my past I am filled with gratitude. When I see the direction my own footprints were taking, along with the tears of remorse I shed over my failures and sins, and then I see the tears of joy for my successes, along with the new set of footprints I followed, I can truly say that I would be a fool to not trust God. Reflective rest has given me new sight—sight to see that God’s handprints have been all over my life, even in moments of apparent defeat. In reality, He has guided and taught me through the pain of my past, which has led me to where I am today. How could I ever doubt that He will continue to be with me no matter what comes my way? Or doubt that He is not able to help me now? Reflecting on my past is my assurance that God is able to do immeasurably more than I can ever conceive or imagine. It provides me with tangible reminders that bolster my confidence that God will continue to care for me in the present and in the future.

If you think God has forgotten you or doesn’t care, I must tell you that you are wrong. He is the same God that He was yesterday, is today, and will be tomorrow. He is the only One who doesn’t change like the shifting sand. He is the only One we can count on to never leave nor forsake us. He is the only One who is bigger than all of our pain and trials, and He is the One who will see us through them.

If you are living in difficulty right now, may I encourage you to take some time for reflective rest? Believe me, it is not an idle waste of time. No matter how painful your past may have been, remind yourself that you are here today because you are a trophy of God’s loving grace. He has plans for you, and they are to prosper you, not to harm you. You may think you are in need of a little polishing up, and maybe that is true. But you are a priceless treasure to God and when He allows various difficulties to come your way, He is using them to polish you into His image. Do not be discouraged…do not be dismayed…for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. And one day, that beautiful trophy will shine brightly because Jesus will be reflected in you.

Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. Psalm 116:7

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his passions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:28-29

Living Mindfully

Have you ever stopped to reflect on how quickly time seems to fly by? When a person is young this question never enters the mind. Interestingly, one usually doesn’t take inventory of “time” until he or she ages. Youth holds the promise of a bright future as one anticipates entering college, meaningful relationships, and traveling the world. Eventually thoughts turn to marriage and children, and thereafter, career and family matters take precedence. At least that is how it was for me. It was not until I got older that I became increasingly more aware of how fleeting time really is. No sooner was one birthday celebrated when the next one magically appeared. Where did the time go? Both the unexpected and anticipated moments seem to come and go as quickly as spring is ushered in after a long, cold winter.

The fact that I have now become cognoscente of the brevity of life allows me to savor each day and live it to its fullest. There are times, however, when I “forget” and in my haste I return to the multi-tasking mode of the past. I begin performing various tasks simultaneously and yet I’m not really present in the moment at all. You know what I mean. You’re busy unloading the dishwasher as you’re preparing supper and your husband is talking to you while your child is whining in the background. You half-heartedly carry on a conversation with him while you try to ignore the cries of your child, as you’re cooking tonight’s dinner and then you find yourself putting the butter in the dishwasher!!! Maybe the situation is not quite that bad, but you get my point! You are not giving your best anywhere because you are trying to do too many things at the same time.

I recently went on a weekend retreat and the theme was about “living mindfully.” To live mindfully is to live fully in the moment. Not in some multi-tasking whirlwind sort of way, but fully embracing and enjoying whomever you are with or whatever you are doing. It is being fully alive and aware of the present moment. Although the culture of today tries to teach us the art of multi-tasking, I believe that when you try to do too much at the same time it lessens the quality of the experience.

So, how do you begin to live mindfully? The speaker encouraged us to take “sacred pauses”—to carve out time and take deliberate pauses in the day wherein you stop what you are doing and talk to God, or look out the window and enjoy His creation, or do some deep breathing and realize God’s breathe is in you, or reflect on His grace and goodness. These pauses help you to live in the now. They bring you back to reality and the reason for your existence—to have a relationship with the Creator of the Universe, and to live thankfully and lovingly with all those that He has put in your path. These pauses make space for God in your life and allow you to live with an open heart of love and gratitude. So many wonderful experiences of God are all around us, yet we often don’t see them when we are hurrying about our days.

The New Testament uses two different words for time: Chronos and Kairos. Chronos is the time governed by the clock. It includes time tables and pre-arranged work schedules. It is task driven and hurried. Chronos time misses out on the joy of the moment for the purpose of completing a task. Kairos time, on the other hand, is measured by events or special moments and allows for meaningful experiences and memories that are long-lasting and precious. It savors those special moments when time seems to stand still as one relishes a memory, a laugh or smile, a meaningful conversation. Even Scripture charges us to redeem our time and use it for all it is worth. “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16

Remember the story of Mary and Martha? Martha became angry and frustrated because she was torn between chronos (the schedule and the tasks) and kairos time (the special moment of sitting at Jesus’ feet). Her sister Mary chose the better part. She relished the moments sitting at her Teacher’s feet.

So my question to you is “How do you use your time?” Are you always in a hurry? Are you missing out on life experiences because the activity or task at hand is becoming more important than the people you are doing it for? Hurrying means losing touch with those around you and it creates a cluttered life rather than a simplified life. Never forget that “Time is the soil in which relationships grow.”

As Christians we are to aim for a balanced life. There are times when it is more prudent to live in chronos mode. However, we must deliberately pursue living in kairos mode too. Look for the kairos even in the seemingless insignificant tasks and remember that God is in them too. Scripture tells us that “there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1

Place speed limits on your life to maintain a pace that is safe, sane, and steady. Take “sacred pauses” often throughout your day. One of my favorite sayings of all times is “Every new day is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift to God.” If you can remember this and practice doing it, you will learn what it means to live mindfully. You’ll redeem your time and it will be lived more passionately. And I don’t know any better way we can spend our time than investing ourselves in others and storing up treasures in heaven!

Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
1 Tim 6:18-19

And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God. Col 1:10