So, we celebrated our anniversary in this little cabin, one bedroom with a loft, a tiny kitchen, living room and bathroom. Nothing fancy at all, but very cozy and inviting. The big deck at the back of the house overlooks the ocean, and when the door opens we can easily hear the waves crashing on the sandy beach. It was very restful. Very Quiet. And, oh so lovely. It wasn’t just the cozy cabin, the lush greenery, and the amazing beach; it was the time my husband and I had together. We’ve been to this area many times with our family and sometimes alone, so we have memories and places that are significant to both of us. We’ve been able to dream here. We rose early every morning, I’m talking 5am, and walked the beach while the tide was out. We walked for miles as our dog freely ran the empty beach looking for his own kind of treasure. Each walk gave me another reason to get one more rock or shell to add to my years of collecting.
Each night we fell in bed before it was completely dark outside, and laughed at how old we are getting. Early to bed, early to rise…..There was so much beauty in everything we did, and didn’t do. It was restful.
While driving home I thought about the power of rest. It restores and rejuvenates areas of our life that we may not recognize as needing to be restored. Rest gives us breath; it gives us time to see ourselves, God, and each other.
This is why living in the rest of Jesus is so valuable. He gives us the ability to breathe through every situation, His rest is a place of surrender, hope, life, joy, and restoration. His rest is confirmation that we can come to Him as we are, and live there in great confidence. We can be in His presence and be assured that He will revitalize the parts of us that need it.
Being in a place of rest is learning to be in relationship. I like that. The weekend with my husband was like that, inviting, comfortable, deep. I’m learning more and more that when I feel at rest deep within my soul because of Jesus, I am at rest with others. It doesn’t mean I will always agree, or be liked, but there is an attitude of rest that supersedes everything else. When that happens I can be who God has made me to be, and be with those I love to be with.
So simple, yet not so simple!
“There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither.”
Alan Cohen </
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