Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28
A life at peace with rest is a difficult thing to grasp. Modern day people are programmed to do something all the time that rest in peace is accomplished only in death. It has been two weeks since I handed in my dissertation. As I am still jobless, these times are truly a God given opportunity for a well deserved rest after three years of balancing family responsibility, graduate school, and work. But the truth is rest can be far from peaceful. Instead, it could be guilt laden and anxiety filled. As I at leisurely pace put my house in order, purged my file cabinet of outdated papers, and rekindle old hobbies of trying out new recipes, I realized I am trying to fill this rest period the wrong way. Of course I am not saying that what I had done was a waste of time. But true rest is only found at the feet of Jesus, quietly listening to his gentle words.
A life at peace with rest is a difficult thing to grasp. Modern day people are programmed to do something all the time that rest in peace is accomplished only in death. It has been two weeks since I handed in my dissertation. As I am still jobless, these times are truly a God given opportunity for a well deserved rest after three years of balancing family responsibility, graduate school, and work. But the truth is rest can be far from peaceful. Instead, it could be guilt laden and anxiety filled. As I at leisurely pace put my house in order, purged my file cabinet of outdated papers, and rekindle old hobbies of trying out new recipes, I realized I am trying to fill this rest period the wrong way. Of course I am not saying that what I had done was a waste of time. But true rest is only found at the feet of Jesus, quietly listening to his gentle words.
