Rest

“O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you.” Psalm 63:1

One of the blessings of these past six months has been an abundance of time spent with my family. From the days of remote learning and quarantine through the slower rhythms of summer, we have been together. This has been a gift joyfully received.

Today is a gift of another sort. Everyone’s going to Grace but me! It will be the first day off I’ve spent alone in quite some time. What to do? Well, after I drop the kiddos off, I’m going to head out for a bike ride, then it will be time for homework. With any luck there’s a nap in my future. And I need to place a Binny’s order. Tonight there’s a baseball game to watch as Anders and the Purple Hustle take the field on what promises to be a beautiful late-summer evening (as long as the rain holds off).

Mostly, though, I’m looking forward to some quiet time with God. This has been a noisy week. There is so much hurt, so much pain in our world. There is so much work for the church to do in response as we live out the call of the gospel. Once in a while, we need to sink back into God’s arms and rest. To remember that God’s grace enfolds us, supports us, strengthens us. To remember that this is enough. To claim the promise that Christ has done all that is needed.

The work for justice does not stop. Ministry never slows down. But sometimes we need to rest, to be with God. We were made for this. Today is the commemoration of St. Augustine, who reminds us, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”

Part of my work today is to reflect on the opening sections of Margaret Wheatley’s Who Do We Choose to Be? Wheatley writes of leadership in these deteriorating times as creating islands of sanity. I’m grateful for such an island today. May you find the rest you need, too.

Two final thoughts: If I ever start a band, I think I’ll name it “Anders and the Purple Hustle.” And, even on days off, Black lives matter.

Be well, friends. You are loved.

God of grace, you call us home to rest in you. Enfold us with your love; let us rest in your grace. Restore us, Lord, that we may rise once more to works of mercy and grace. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Image: Still life of coffee and feet. Photo credit: Me.