rest
Sleep is what I get from 10ish at night til 6ish in the morning.
Rest is what I seek away from the ordinary.
Sometimes it can be found within our home.
Often it is found as Ben and I retreat away.
We carved out time recently for rest.
A break from the ordinary.
An escape from normalcy.
Downtime for the mind.
Reconnection of the heart.
For us, a bed & breakfast is where we went to find rest.
When escaping normalcy, we share with each other our desires for the time away.
Phones turned off, unless taking pictures of our delicious meals.
TV turned off unless watching the Giants.
(Cable is not in our home, so cable away is oddly rest.)
Breakfast prepared for you without having to even see the kitchen.
Reading magazines fireside.
Uninterrupted conversations, just me and Ben.
Thanking God for the past and present.
Dreaming together about our future.
Rest has to be scheduled in this fast-paced world.
Very seldom does one simply stumble upon it.
Have you scheduled rest?
Have you protected those dates on your calendar?
What does rest look like for you? for your spouse?
I am privileged to have a helpmate who seeks rest with me and for me.
We have learned that pulling away from the ordinary and normalcy of life for rest,
restores the weary and worn pieces of our soul.
For that, O God, I am grateful.
If only I could hang this ornament on my bedroom door in my ordinary life.