A Resting Place

in communion this sunday we were asked to think about the "i am" statements of Christ. who is jesus to us? what does our own relationship with him mean?

i went to england last year and my parents drove us up to Coventry, an industrial town much like Edmonton in the south central part of England. in convent's there stands the only 20th century cathedral in England and it is beautiful. as you walk along inside there are several saying of jesus carved into giant stone slabs. and as i was walking along i came across one that says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." and right there in that moment i realized how much God wanted that for me in my own life, to just give me rest, to rest in him, to find comfort in him. an epiphany in Coventry.

and so i as i think of what jesus is to me (especially in this crazy time called june) i think of rest. I AM YOUR REST.

i wonder how God looks at our inability to depend on him, our inability to find our rest in him. we run around going to counselors, massages, weekend getaways, reading books guaranteed to help us organize and settle down our lives, sneaking in naps wherever we can, drinking coffee to keep us awake, having a beer or two to relax. But what if we started by centering our lives in God, learning to wait on him and depending on him to renew our strength or to calm us. What if...instead of drinking coffee or taking a nap we spent time in prayer asking God for strength?

Now drinking coffee or a beer or two are not bad things. They are quite pleasing to taste. So that's not what I am saying. I'm just asking if we are too used to depending on other things rather than God. You know, if we are using a beer to take the edge off things or a drink of coffee to give us the energy we need....maybe that says something about our dependency on things other than God first. If you are depending on God first and have these other things on the side then.....well....have at 'er.

Is it ridiculous to take it to this level? Something inside of me says, "well lisa...God gave us sleep so we could get rest." But at the same time I want to live a life that acknowledges that God is my strength and my sustainer, not anything else.

I have been challenged about this in my own life. wondering how my lifestyle reflects what i truly believe about God, how much i really believe, really love, and really trust. and not just what i say being representative of that, but the little things i do even without thinking. i guess just something to think about.