“Rest” is God’s word to me this year. And even with surgery to “slow” me down I’ve not done well with learning what that means. And after 4 months of limited mobility I’m ready to get back to my “normal” self. I don’t think it part of God’s plan however.

One day this past week at work, I needed a break from the mental work I had been focused on all day and decided to take a walk outside the building for a bit. As I’m walking along, I was working deliberately to walk correctly so I don’t develop a habitual or permanent limp.

…but that slows me down
…and frustrates me
…and I’m more than ready
…to be back to “normal”

So while I slowed my pace I realized that there is rest in a quiet deliberate slow pace. I think of rest as…

stopping
doing nothing
free from activity

So while I was “busy” resting, I was able to notice a mother bird feed her babies, wishing I had my camera. I noticed the bark on the trees along the walkway, or I should say lack of bark. It was almost as if the trees were shedding their skin.

There was a quiet rest in my soul. If I had been walking at my pre-surgery pace I would have missed all of it. My focus would have been on the destination (getting back to my desk). And isn’t it about the journey?

And how quickly I forget what I just discovered.

I returned to my desk to get my phone so I could take photos of the trees and before I knew it…

I was rushing my steps
on a mission
falling back into old patterns

This exercise in rest, is hard work.

Mark 6:31 Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. 

The quiet place of rest on that day was a simple, deliberate walk around a building. The time was brief, the setting not what  you would expect for a “time away” but it was just what this soul needed.

How or where do you find rest?

A lesson learned, that I’m sure I’ll need reminders on this Journey. Jackie