The Rest of the Story

I have a confession on this Tuesday morning. I struggle with the concept of rest. Somehow, it just evades my realm of understanding. For example, I am finally propped up on the couch in our living room as I am taking a sick day due to terrible congestion. But, you would be amazed at how long it took me to allow myself to do this. First, I felt that I "had" to finish emptying my suitcase and make-up bag from a weekend trip. (After all, there were just a few things left to be unpacked and put away! ). Then, there was a load of clothes that "had" to be put in the wash. According to me, the dishwasher "had" to be emptied. And, of course, before I propped up on the couch, I "had" to gather things that I might need.....tissues, trash can, books, paper, pen, highlighter, a drink, laptop computer, cell phone.....You get the idea.

As I ate my breakfast, I read Psalm 23. After all of these years, a word jumped off the page and penetrated my being. The word was "make". "He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside the still (quiet) waters, He restores my soul." That spoke to me as it takes someone making me to lie down for me to do it. And, it is no surprise (even to "rest challenged" people like me) that the lying down and resting part of the chapter comes before the part about restoring my soul. How can my soul be restored if I am exhausted from stubbornly refusing to allow myself to rest? Simply put, we need rest in order to be restored. In theory, I "get" that.

But, my lifestyle clearly indicates that I do not.

As I am propped up here in front of a window in my living room, I see that some snowflakes are beginning to fall. It occurs to me that we consider snow to be beautiful when it is just "resting" on the ground. There is no self imposed requirement for the snow to accomplish a certain number of things before it lies there in its blanket of radiance.

There is a loving Shepherd who longs for us to lie down and rest in the pasture that He has carefully and lovingly prepared for us. As Max Lucado points out, "His pasture is His gift to us."

Why is it such a struggle to give ourselves permission to accept this wonderful gift?

As I prepare to have two needle biopsies tomorrow, I am going to make a conscious effort to allow myself to accept the Shepherd's gift of rest.

Psalm 91:1 - He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

As Paul Harvey always said, "That's the rest of the story"!