Rest

grace  <noun>

• Unmerited divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration or sanctification
• A virtue coming from God
• Mercy
• Pardon
• Disposition to or an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency
• Reprieve

All of us need grace and all of us want to give it freely. But there are days when our grace tank is, well, empty. We are mercy-ed out, there is no reprieve in sight, and we don’t have margin to offer kindness or courtesy to others or even ourselves!

Please see Definition #1.

May I be real with you? These past several days I have bounced back and forth from a tank full of grace to fumes of grace. I would like to say that this happens over the course of several days; slowly running out over the week. Nope. These days, I can swing frequently between different levels of grace within short time periods. Although I try to maintain some sense of decency with my precious family, I’m sure they are not fooled by my desperate act. And while I’m being honest, I’m not that good of an actress! So what do we do when we are running on empty?

Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat,

he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

Mark 6:31

There it is again. Rest. We simply must slow down. God did not create us to be refueled in mid-flight. We are designed to go away with him to receive His unmerited divine assistance and be regenerated and sanctified. Oh, the beauty of His grace!

So I pause and remind myself that this is His work that He has invited me into. I release my death-grip on the call list and trust that He will connect me with these precious people in His perfect time. Like He always does. I close the laptop filled with tasks and exhale. And inhale. And cry. And laugh. And take a walk. And take a nap. I pray and worship. And then do it all again because He has invited me into His presence. He has good gifts to give me – and I need to be still to receive them – so that I have something to offer to those He has entrusted to me.

He never intended me to do this in my own strength and our current world situation has simply swiped a big, yellow highlighter over my need for Him. Our rest, much like our work, will look differently than it used to. How much rest we need and when we need it has changed. We simply must give ourselves permission to adapt in this world filled with new demands and recognize that it is different now. It is in His presence where we can process face masks and social distancing and receive His peace. It is snuggled up in His arms that we can hear His heartbeat for us and know that it really is going to be OK. Have you ever noticed that when we are running hard, the heartbeat we hear is our own?

My prayer is that you have opportunity to refresh with your Father. Today. And tomorrow. That you make time on that calendar to simply be with Him and receive His rest, His gifts, and His love for you. Rest is not a luxury; it is a necessity. Rest is not selfish; it is the selfless act of trusting God to be God. Rest is allowing your loving Father to give you His divine assistance,  filling you, refreshing you, and reminding you that…

You are adored.