By the first of July, most families have either taken a summer vacation or they are finalizing their plans to do so. Sometimes a work schedule or finances only allows for a short getaway, but no matter what the length of time and intricacies of the plans, many parents look forward to a period of rest and relaxation from the daily job grind or repetitive nature of our daily lives.
This past week our family took our annual summer trip to Florida. Each summer we try to visit Ginny’s parents who retired to Daytona Beach. I must say, if you can influence your in-laws to select a retirement location with lots of attractions, a great beach, and plenty of good restaurants, then packing up the family for a long trip is well worth the hassle.
The vacation was enjoyable but not necessarily the most relaxing time. Each day started at or before 6:30 in the morning, whether we wanted to or not. Michael somehow knew we were someplace special and he did not want to miss any of it by sleeping late. Couple that with his unquenchable appetite to walk around as mom and dad follow in tow, lathering on the sunscreen twice a day, hauling stuff to the beach and back, splashing in the waves, swimming with John David, cleaning up to go eat dinner and enjoy an evening activity and you have a recipe for an exhausting day. Whoever said that vacations were restful never did it with children.
As life changes, with age and family, I have come to realize that God’s instruction to find a day of rest is more about our health and spirit than necessarily about being lazy. We all need time that allows for the daily grind of the week to be laid aside and for us to find balance and meaning in what we do. The Bible, however, never talks about vacations; but it does talk a lot about rest.
Rest is not our invention, God first initiated it, “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” (Genesis 2:2-3). Though God never tires, he does see the need to step back from work to gain a perspective of why we work. This blessing of the seventh day is correlated with our Sunday being known as a day of rest.
Many times in Jesus’ life he separated himself from his work. He literally sought isolated areas so that he could pray and find moments of rest. Although his divine nature meant unlimited capabilities, the human limitations restricted the amount of work he could accomplish at any given moment.
For the most part, we are a society on the go. Whether in our work, or our rest, we seem to be constantly moving and going. Businesses are open longer, companies employ workers for swing shifts, some stores are open 24/7 and never close to catch the late night shoppers. Even our vacations tend to get jammed with countless activities so that we feel we have “gotten our money’s worth.” Sometimes we are more tired when we return from such adventures than when we started. No wonder there are so many energy drinks and diet supplements, we can’t get enough done on our own.
I am reminded of Jesus’ words in Matthew 11, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” In a life daily committed to Christ we find rest for our souls and a yoke that seems less burdensome than any other found in life.
Although my vacation was tiresome at times, it did help to bring some rest for my soul as I was able to step back from the work of the church. As a family, we even went to church on Sunday, and I must say how nice it was to simply be in the House of the Lord observing the Sabbath and keeping it holy.
I look forward to seeing you in the place of rest this Sunday,
