“He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters.”
When I read the verse I had mapped out for this week, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. We just received our schedule of events for spring sports, and as I was inputting it all into our calendar, seeing the overlap with birthday parties, church events, and the like, my anxiety was starting to build. A couple of years ago I had these bold statements about how I wasn’t going to be this over-scheduled mom, how we would be in minimal activities and focus more on play at home. While the sentiment of the previous sentence is lovely, that is not our reality. Between the shuffling of soccer balls, ballet slippers and diapers, I battle inner dialogue like the following…
-Am I crazy for doing all of this?
-Will I look back in a couple of years with the “ha you thought it was crazy then” mentality
-How do I know when we are doing too much?
-If we are doing too much, what do we drop?
I could go on but I’ll spare you from any more of my spiraling…
The verse today centers around rest. I interpret this rest literally and spiritually. Literally, we need to rest. God commanded rest on the Sabbath, and while this looks different for various believers, are called each week to take time to slow down and to worship. Also, of course, our bodies need sleep to function well. (This is your reminder to check on a mom with a newborn!) Physical rest is important, and it is critical that we put rhythms into our week to accommodate for this. But I interpret the rest in this verse in a spiritual sense as well. There are mornings when the act of getting everyone out of the house in the morning and getting to work in one piece leaves me craving a nap before 8 am. Unfortunately, that generally doesn’t fit into the 9th grade lesson plan. In these moments, I can call upon the Lord to restore and refresh me. When literal rest isn’t a possibility, I can walk obediently, trusting that He knows what I need and that He will equip and sustain me for what He has called me to do.
User Update- Anne’s week
To be honest, I used “I can” above because the reality is that I don’t walk in that truth all the time. Far too often I lean on my own energy reserves or collapse into self pity. I wrote the paragraphs above on a well rested Saturday, and I found myself anxious, frustrated, having to repeat those truths through some sleep deprived nights in our house this week. Yet, the good news is that we serve a Shepherd who continues to guide and restore us, even when we forget that our true rest is in Him.
Anne
*Random backyard pic from my camera roll—> a lazy Sunday afternoon in the backyard
Unscheduled afternoons in the backyard are restful, refreshing to all 6 of us and something we need to be better about doing
Paid subscribers keep scrolling for the Devotional