As a grandmother looking back over my life, whether it was during my stay-at-home years or my twenty-two years of mothering and teaching school, the focus I am drawn to in my mind again and again is the cross.
Because of the rigorous demands of being a wife and tending to the needs of a husband and mother to three very active sons or teaching in the projects with all of its many challenges, I personally could not separate bodily rest and spiritual rest. When my mind was at ease trusting God, my body was able to endure so much more.
The rest started for me in the rising before the dawn. This seems to be just the opposite of what my body would need with its demanding schedule of events, but for me it was crucial to my well-being physically and mentally.
At first this spiritual discipline of arising so early to spend a hour or so with him was just that--a true discipline that I had to make myself do. As the years wore on, it became a retreat, a vacation, a spa, a time of refreshing that I looked forward to with all my heart.
It was here, alone with Him on the right end of my sofa, that I learned to trust Him, learned to let Him carry the many burdens of the day, learned His ever so gentle whisper of my name to get my attention, to come away with Him, to be enveloped in His love and be renewed and refreshed. And it was that spiritual rest that got me through the rest of the day no matter how far into the night hours it reached.
My life has changed quite drastically since those days--there are no alarm clocks, no children living at home, not nearly as many demands on my time so I don't have the spiritual discipline of arising early to beat the dawn at praising Him. I don't have to follow quite so rigorous a schedule to be able to find precious quality and quantity time to be alone with Him.
I still find it crucial to my well-being, though, to spend solitary time with Him--no matter what time of day it is.
So it is with no regrets and no apologies that I encourage you to "go away with Him." You will NEVER be disappointed or regret the time you spend in His presence alone.
from Psalm 57:
7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!
8 Awake, my glory!
Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
9 I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to You among the nations.
10 For Your lovingkindness is great to the heavens
And Your truth to the clouds.
11 Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
Let Your glory be above all the earth.
Dianne
2010-the Year of Longings
I am linking to:
photos of cross taken at Shoppes on Woodlawn
