“I wonder sometimes if we’re afraid of rest. We’re conditioned by 24/7 news and Facebook updates to be afraid we’ll miss out on something we “ought” to know. We’re afraid we’ll lag further behind in the race to some steadily receding finish line like Archimede’s tortoise. We’re afraid we’ll let someone down, as others’ expectations expand to fill the mental space we allot them. We’re afraid we won’t measure up to the frenetic standards of celebrated overachievers. We’re afraid, perhaps, that what we’ve been avoiding thinking about will surface to haunt and trouble us if we quiet our spinning minds.”
~Marilyn Chandler McEntyre, What’s in a Phrase? Pausing Where Scripture Gives You Pause
Marilyn goes on to remind us that rest is something we need to reclaim “not only as a gift from a wise Creator, who designed us to need it, but as a sacred command with wide application.”
Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy.
Sitting a spell in the stillness,
Sandy
Welcome to the Still Saturday Community where we pause after a busy week, move in quiet pilgrimage, maybe linger a while in some still place, and soak in the beauty of images and reflect on the depth of sparse words. We’d love for you to join us. Grab the button and link up below. We all love to hear if something especially speaks to your heart, but please don’t feel pressured to comment. Simply take some time to be still together, to gaze long and drink deep.
Beautiful photo and beautiful truth.
This is from Marilyn’s chapter called “Solemn Rest,” where she reflects on that phrase from Leviticus 25:4 from the ESV. That’s what she does in the whole book–reflects on phrases that have given her pause. I could stand to stop and reflect more often.
Happy Sabbath, Elizabeth.
True words and nice photos.
Have a blessed new year
Thanks, dear Mascha. Happy New Year to you!
Amen to that! Rest does indeed require trust. Love this, Sandy. God’s commands are always for our good, and that’s part of the trusting, I think.
Have a beautiful weekend, my most beautiful friend. xoxox
Good point, Patricia. It’s easy to forget that everything God commands, everything He does, and everything He allows is for our ultimate good.
Love you big, friend. xox
This is a message we need to remember to remember so that we can be full accessible to the One who calls us to REST in the first place. He set the standard, he gave the paradigm. He knew we would need to hear it often.
Thanks for reminding us!
Blessings,
Dawn
I know *I* have to hear it often–and to remember my most “productive” doing will flow from my being. That means I often need to STOP.
Hugs to you, Dawn.
Sandy, this is beautiful! Happy New Year 🙂
Praying you embrace much solemn rest this year, Lyli. xo
Sandra, my Christmas vacation began with my taking a very bad fall on the last day of school, the next day my car ceased to function and cannot be repaired, still it was almost Christmas and Jesus’ coming was my center. My family and I were blessed to celebrate together! God is good! Thought things might settle down but my grandson Andrew has been sick. He is medically fragile, trached and vented, and his respiratory is extremely compromised with a touch of pneumonia. He has daily nursing, but his constant care during the night can be overwhelming and exhausting. I have been helping out all week and he is more stable so I decided to take last night and today to just rest in and with Jesus! It was really hard to do at first but I have spent hours and hours with Him in prayer, reading my Bible and in meditation. My heart and soul are refreshed…and I even slept awhile! I love this simple Still Saturday thought…”Rest requires trust!” I place all my trust in my God who loves my family, me, all of us with the greatest Love we will ever experience, beyond all understanding… Jesus loves us so much He gave His Life so we would have a life with Him! Thx for sharing! These words just brought to my heart an overwhelming gratitude! Praise God!
Oh my word, Mary. I’m sorry you’ve had such a hard few weeks, but I love your perspective and your choice of center. I’m glad you found some time–made some time–to rest. The hard stuff is so much harder to navigate when we’re exhausted. I hope you’re feeling better and that some affordable wheels will materialize. And right now I’m praying for your dear Andrew. Sending so much love.
Thank you for inviting us to rest with you today, Sandra. I love the idea that rest requires trust. I haven’t thought of it that way before, but I realize that it is very true. Blessings.
It means letting go of the to-do list for a bit and trusting that the important stuff gets done, right? And also that God will help us deal with whatever thoughts surface–thoughts that maybe *need* to surface to be dealt with. I often think about how a surgeon can’t operate on our physical body unless we’re still. Neither can God operate on our spirits unless we’re still.
Bless you, Heather.
Hey, beautiful you. Just popping over to grab a quiet moment and say Happy New Year to you. Love you, lady.
Love you, too, lady. Happy New Year. See you in May! xo
So true, Sandra — sometimes rest can be the most difficult thing! Thanks for hosting & God bless.
Sometimes rest is just plain hard work. Sigh…
Happy New Year, Laurie.
Wonderful quote. I love that you further shared that rest needs to be reclaimed and applied. We can so know we are in need of rest but then to carve out the rest for ourselves & apply the knowledge of the importance of rest can be a struggle at times. May this be the year of reclaiming rest for our weary souls. Beautiful truth & PHOTOS!!! Oh my word, those are beautiful photos! Thank you for sharing these beauties today!
I’m really good at encouraging others to rest. To reclaim it for myself can be a struggle. 🙂
And thanks so much for your presence here and your encouragement, Joanne. Hugs.