Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.
- Mark 6:31
This has been a heavy week full of sad news for our extended family. I’ve kept what I originally wrote for this verse last week below, but also wanted to add that in the midst of a lot of grieving this week, I have found deep comfort in simply sobbing into God’s shoulder. Grateful for a Love that can hold all of our joy and all of our sorrow as well. And if you are grieving this week too, know I’m holding you up to the light and asking God to grant you rest, even if it’s a moment to grieve in the presence of Love.
I love this invitation that Jesus gives to his disciples. The context? They’ve been following Jesus, watching him see and greet and heal many, and they’ve been doing the same. I’m sure they were tired. The next verse in Mark says, “For many were coming and going , and they had no leisure even to eat” (Mark 6:7). I love that Jesus is inviting the disciples into both things, into the work of loving and speaking truth and healing, AND into rest. I believe it’s also an invitation for each of us.
I feel like I get the calling part, the part where we get to use the gifts we’ve been given to bring light and beauty into the world around us, to move forward wherever we go as bridge builders, reconciliation makers, and people of peace. But I love that in the midst of that, God invites us into sabbath , into rest, into quiet places where we can ponder the mysteries of God. This is what I am hoping to lean into this year, even in the midst of touring and mom-ing (how do you spell that?!? Ha! I want to slow myself down, rise a little earlier, quiet my soul a bit more often, maybe even learn to say “no” more so I can say “yes” to the beauty of being still in the midst of this wild and wonderfully busy life I’m living. I invite you to come along, and even if it’s 2 minutes of quiet and breathing in the car before I walk inside, I think it may shift the atmosphere for me. Cheers to the good work we’re each called to, and cheers to the good rest we’re called to as well! Taking all recs for resting and sabbath-ing in the comments below. What has worked for you? : )