Seeking quiet time is this noisy place is a struggle. The rest that is offered me when I seek the quiet is F-R-E-E. All I have to do is just receive it.
I love it when my kids sleep. I love the noise that we can create when we are making memories and enjoying family time, too. Oh, how I love the quiet though. When their little peepers shut, their breathing slows, and they drift off to dreamland.
I have a friend whose two kiddos are the same age as mine (under 6). She told me once that they take three-hour naps on Sunday afternoons. That would be heaven to me! My oldest doesn't take a nap unless we let her stay up late the night before, which is almost never because we pay dearly for that the next day (hence the need for a nap). My youngest takes two-hour naps at daycare during the week...I'm still trying to get them to give me their secret.
Most days (if I don't really wear them out for a couple hours at the park), they fight sleep. I'm not talking about a bedtime routine struggle. They fight letting go and receiving the rest their little bodies require. I've got a couple of prize-fighters, too. Sometimes it seems they literally "pass out" as they wiggle under the sheets up until the last bit of energy is expended. Then, my quiet time starts.
28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT)
It gets wearisome looking for ways to squeeze quiet out of the hectic world. When the kids fall asleep at night, I am also exhausted. It would be so easy to roll over and turn out the light. I used to do that. And then I would lay there. For hours. Carrying my burdens to bed, fretting and not getting any rest at all really.
Now, in my evening quiet time, I give those burdens to Jesus. He teaches me how to let go of the heavy yoke and just receive the One that is easy to bear. He gives me rest for my soul when I just receive it. Sometimes I wake up in the night and there is a sick child, or a telephone ringing, or a storm outside my window. And Jesus is right there at the edge of my bed. Offering gentleness and a heart of love that has taught me how to respond to life the way I was designed to respond - peacefully.
Will you receive this rest today? When you have a break in the business of the day, before you mark off that next thing on your "To Do" list...just stop and take a moment to bow your head and close your eyes. Pray and ask the Lord to take your burdens and cast them into the sea. That is what He promises to do. Believe it, receive it, and claim it each day. Then you will find rest and the next time you seek quiet, you may just find it a whole lot easier.
Enjoy the quiet moments where you find them today - I'd love to hear how you are doing!
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