What is rest

As I tore my pantry and laundry rooms apart yesterday…I thought to myself…”WHY? Why do you do this to yourself?…why don’t you rest….what is rest?”

I think that many people are asking themselves this on a more frequent occasion these days.  We are all bustling around trying to tend to this thing called LIFE.  What is rest, and How does one go about achieving it? I’ve been looking at that question over the past few months.  I need some, as I’m sure all of you do also.

I’ve actually been feeling a bit sorry for myself lately…I have to say I’ve been feeling a little blue and melancholy.  Partially because it’s winter…and that’s the nature of the beast.  Partially because I’ve been going full force for months, actually for a couple of years now.  As Y’all know, Dave is living in Montana/North Dakota….and I’ve been trying to take care of our Texas home kinda on my own.  He’s not getting to come home every week-end, or even every other week-end like he used to.  This in and of itself has hurt my heart.  But mostly just dealing with the struggles of home ownership (a home that lacks a LOT to be desired).  ANYHOO….I’ve been sulking!  Then yesterday…it dawned on me.  REALLY?  Look at your readers….  They get up every day…get dressed (I’m sorry, I can honestly say I don’t everyday…and I should be ashamed…but I’m not! lol) They go out to their jobs, and try to get their errands dealt with, while earning a paycheck.  They ALSO remodel their homes, and do many of the things YOU’RE doing!  The pity began to fall away…and it was replaced with gratitude.  Gratitude for my blessings, for my situation.

When I was a young girl, I was whining one day about my problems.  I was complaining to my grandmother: whom, by the way, was a pastor!  Have I told Y’all that? ANYWAY….wise beyond ANYTHING I’ll ever be, she told me this: “If you were given the option to take all your problems….along with your advantages and put them in a pile with every other person’s, and get the set that you thought you’d like to have….within a week, you and EVERY OTHER person would be back to get your/their set back!  WOW!  Even as a young girl that was compelling.  She was right! I knew it, and still do.  So I think about what others must be dealing with, when I begin to think about how bad I have it.  What does this story have to do with rest?  Well….what is rest?

My  New Oxford American Dictionary says:  a short rest from work: break, vacation, breathing space, interval, interlude, intermission, time off/out, holiday; informal breather.

Okay….didn’t I just have Christmas Holiday?  Where Dave came to visit…and watched over Jude A LOT so I could have a breather? HMMMMMM  Okay, NO it wasn’t what I had in mind, NO it didn’t last as long as I would have liked…but it WAS rest.  So as I ramble, I realize….I’ve had my rest, and I need to quit whining and get back to work.

Organization is probably the WORD that I need to adapt for the year 2013….and I’m starting right here: