When It's Hard to Rest
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11)
Why is it so hard to rest? I went upstairs to put my baby to bed. He had been awake for two and a half hours, the perfect “wake window.” I fed him some milk, wiggled him into his green sleep sack, and asked Alexa to enable white noise. I quietly closed the door behind me, gently turned the knob, and exhaled. I tip-toed downstairs but quickly heard his faint cries. He’s ten months old. Shouldn’t he be sleep-trained by now?
I studied his monitor and noticed his tiny fingers clenched onto his sleep sack as he rocked back and forth. He took a break from rocking and stuffed his fists into his mouth. I heard babbles, coos, and more cries. Finally, he lay still, only to start crying again. Why was he fighting the thing he needed most?
Maybe you’ve been in this situation, trying to get your loved one to rest, trying to get them to be still, trying to get them to pause. Perhaps you are in this situation - you struggle to choose rest over hustle.
When we’re faced with stressful seasons, Christ wants us to come to him, even though we’d rather stay up longer or try harder. Rest is a conscious choice that says God’s way is best.
Unlike our loads, His burden is light.
Matthew 11 encourages us to “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light'' (Matthew 11:28-30, NIV).
I want to linger in His rest.
Reads
What stories linger with you? What topics could you keep discussing?
Recently, I’ve read several books I’m still chewing on.
The Gift of the Unexpected
This book is one family’s journey of down-syndrome and grappling with questions of ableism.
The author mostly focuses on high level thoughts, instead of the nitty gritty like how it affects everyday life.
She used to be a news journalist and has excellent attention to detail. I really appreciated her perspective and reminder to examine our worldview.
I feared the dark because of the unknowns that could be waiting in its shadows.
I realized a different life was not a less-than life, that my heart needed healing more than my son needed to be cured of atypicality. (Jillian Benfield)
Being Elizabeth Elliot
The second book in Ellen Vaughn’s fantastic biographical series. A captivating look at Elisabeth’s later years as a widow, writer, and mother. Ellen writes with grace and truth.
Peace does not dwell in outward things, but in the heart prepared to wait trustfully and quietly on Him who has all things safely in His hands. (Being Elizabeth Elliot)
What themes have been lingering with you?
This post is part of a blog hop with Exhale—an online community of women pursuing creativity alongside motherhood, led by the writing team behind Coffee + Crumbs. Click here to view the next post in the series "Linger."
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Love the illustration 🙏