31 Days: Sleeping in the storm

Matthew 8:23-27

Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm. The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him!”

In the Mark (4:37-38) account of this event we find that “A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.”

Jesus is a man who knows how to rest! He takes the opportunity that presents itself – a cushion in the back of a boat. It doesn’t sound all that comfortable at the best of times. So how is it that Jesus could sleep in a sinking boat in the middle of a violent storm? I find this hard to get my head around, but I also find myself concluding that although probably very tired at the end of the day, Jesus was also a man fully at peace, trusting and resting in the Father.

The disciples who were experienced fishermen had no doubt faced storms before, but this one must have been extremely bad to frighten them so much. When they woke Jesus, shouting at him to save them from drowning, they must have expected that he could in fact save them! It’s unclear how, because they certainly weren’t expecting him to still the storm.

Jesus rebuked them for their lack of faith, and it seems apparent that they still didn’t fully comprehend who he really was.

What about us? What is our faith like? What is our response to the storms of life? Do we become worried or afraid? Or do we remember that Jesus is in the boat with us, and put our trust in him?

This is Day 29 of The Rhythm of Rest series (Write 31 Days challenge).

Image credit: morguefile.com

31 Days: Some practical ideas for ways to rest

I’ve been writing about the importance of rest for three weeks now, so let’s get practical for a few minutes. Rest is good. We need rest. But how do we make rest a priority, when it feels like we’ll fall off the treadmill of life and hurt ourselves if we try to slow down or even stop?

There’s always something (usually a lot of things) demanding our attention, our time and our energy.

Well I can’t tell you what you should do. I don’t know what your situation is like, what commitments you have, whether you’d happily curl up with a good book or stare at the ocean if you had the time, or whether you get antsy if you sit down for longer than five minutes at a time. Only you know that.

Making time for rest is not likely to come easily or naturally, and it will probably mean that you have to make it a priority over something else. You may need to sacrifice something you like doing but that doesn’t actually refresh you, or something you think you ‘need’ to do before you’re allowed to rest. You may need to leave some things undone or unfinished until after you’ve rested. If you aren’t used to giving yourself time to rest, you may need to start small as you get used to giving yourself permission to make rest a priority.

(Just quietly, if your skin started crawling at the very idea of leaving something unfinished or undone in order to rest, it just may be the most important thing you need.)

So here a few ideas for ways to rest. Use whatever is helpful for sparking your own ideas. One important thing to consider when choosing ways to rest, is whether they are life-giving for you, whether you feel refreshed. You might love watching movies and back-to-back episodes of your favourite tv series on Netflix, but if they’re not refreshing you, maybe that’s entertainment and not rest.

Some of these ideas may take a few minutes during your work day, some could take a whole day on the weekend. It’s up to you.

• take a walk along the beach or in a park
• sit on a bench and watch the world go by
• read a good book
• pray, read scripture, and listen for how the Lord might be speaking to you
• sleep – yay!
• cook something you love to eat – share it with friends or family
• write in a journal (maybe in your favourite coffee shop)
• stretch
• lay on the floor and listen to your favourite music
• catch up for coffee or a meal with a good friend
• take a break from your electronic devices (yes, mobile phone, tablet, laptop, computer – whatever is dragging you along at warp speed to keep up with the world)
• sit in your favourite chair, close your eyes and listen for the Lord’s whisper (you might need some solitude for this one)
• do something creative – draw, paint, take photographs, sew or knit, play music (however you like to express your unique creativity)
• drink more water (note to self!)
• take regular breaks at work (use an egg timer or an app to remind you to stop and stretch or do something else for a few minutes – try the Pomodoro technique)

I’d love to hear some of your ideas for rest. Drop me a line in the Comments.

Happy resting!

This is Day 22 of The Rhythm of Rest series (Write 31 Days challenge).

Image credit: morguefile.com

31 Days: Learning to rest through trust

A couple of nights ago I took out my earrings before going to bed. Actually I took out one earring, because I suddenly discovered that the other one was lost.

I know losing an earring is hardly an earth-shattering event, but these were (are) my favourite earrings. I’ve worn them almost every day since I bought them on a holiday in New Zealand two years ago. I love those earrings, so I was dismayed to discover that one was missing.

At the same time I realised that there was a choice to make. I could turn the house upside down looking for the missing earring, and spend a lot of energy fretting over it.

Or, I could choose another path. Much as I love them, they are only earrings after all. So I prayed that if it was possible for the lost earring to be found that the Lord would bring it to my attention so that I would see it. That’s all. And I left it in his hands, trusting him for the outcome. Whether the earring was found or not, it would be okay.

This evening as I got into my car after work I happened to look down and see the lost earring on the floor beneath the steering wheel. Thank you Lord.

Yes, a lost earring is no big deal but in it was an opportunity for me to choose rest through trust. An internal rest, a way of being in relationship with God. And if I can rest in him with the little things then I can learn to rest in him with the big things of life too.

Lost then found. This is the Good News that goes deeper every time we dare to live out who God made us to be in this world. Walking by faith. Placing our trust in him.

Bonnie Gray, Finding Spiritual Whitespace: awakening your soul to rest

This is Day 15 of The Rhythm of Rest series (Write 31 Days challenge).

What peanut M&Ms and the dentist have to do with flourishing

What does flourishing look like? Today it looks an orange temporary filling in my left molar and mascara stains on my cheeks. Let me explain.

My past experiences with the dental profession have not been great, and for over ten years I’ve been avoiding them altogether. That is until the other night when a chunk of my tooth broke on a peanut M&M. My avoidance days were over, and in a move of uncharacteristic decisiveness on my part I rang the next day to make an appointment.

Fast forward to this morning. I was a little anxious but thought I was holding it together quite well … until I stepped into the dental surgery.

By the time I’d filled in the new patient information card and sat down to wait I was rapidly spiralling into a hot mess. When the dental nurse called me in I had peeled off my coat, scarf and jacket and was trying to staunch a flood of tears with a tissue. I hadn’t realised I was that anxious.

Thanks to a lovely and understanding dentist, forty-five minutes later I walked out with my temporary filling and two new appointments for a permanent filling and to deal with a few other minor issues that have developed over the dentist-free years. (Note: I’m not encouraging anyone else to avoid regular dental check-ups, I’m very lucky not to have any major issues.)

So why do I call this flourishing? Because today I stopped avoiding one of my fears and faced it. And despite the anxiety and the tears, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be.

Yes, it helped to have a dentist who understood my anxiety, and who had a strategy for helping me through it. And that’s the point, I got through it instead of running away from it.

I call it flourishing because I walked out feeling a little lighter and a little stronger, as if a weight had been lifted, and it has.

I call it flourishing because today I feel just a little more like the me I was created to be.

Image sourced here.

31 Days: In the Silence of the Heart

I always begin my prayer in silence, for it is in the silence of the heart that God speaks. God is the friend of silence – we need to listen to God because it’s not what we say but what He says to us and though us that matters.

~ Mother Theresa

 

In the silence of the heart you speak.

How Lord? How does one silence the heart? How do I still my heart? How do I make space for you to enter in?

Offer up the things that are worrying you. Let go of the things you’re holding onto, and give them to me.

I will give you rest. I will make myself known to you.

That sounds good to me Lord. That sounds very good. How is it that you take my wretched, dirty gifts and then you give me the priceless gift of yourself?

In the silence of the heart you speak love. Thank you Lord.

This is Day 3 of 31 Days to Listen. For more information on this challenge, or to see what others are writing about, check out Write 31 Days.