I have been going hard since August:
- Spent a weekend in Missouri teaching at a Mother/Daughter Conference.
- Spent five more days in Missouri at a Youth Camp where I taught some precious teenage girls.
- Travelled to California for a rockin’ Women’s Retreat with the The Rock Church, San Diego.
- Came home and started studying and preparing for our Glo Girl Conference.
- Enjoyed having my Mom, Dad, and Grandmother in my home for a few days before my nephew’s wedding.
- Had a glorious weekend worshipping, teaching, and fellowshipping with lots of you at our Glo Girl Conference.
- Headed to California one more time for a powerful Warrior Princess Women’s Retreat with Calvary Chapel Chino Hills.
I loved every single thing in each and every one of those bullet points. But this weekend, this girl really needed a Sabbath. And look at what God did!
He opened the heavens and gave us the first really rainy Sunday we’ve had here in months! See that rain pouring off my roof? See those puddles in my yard? Showers of blessing, honey!
So what do you do when you’ve been going hard and God gives you a really rainy Sunday? Well, I got myself out of bed, went to church, and worshipped God with my rain-soaked, bad-hair-day-but-we-don’t-care-day brothers and sisters in Christ. Glorious!
What else do you do when you’ve been going hard and God gives you a really rainy Sunday? Here at my house, we do this:
Girl, I hit the porch swing Sunday afternoon for as looong as I could . . . until the rain made me move inside.
But when I got inside, I ignored the dirty dishes in the sink and made a beeline straight here:
To my comfy chair beside a window with a beautiful rainy view where I read a couple of chapters from a new addiction of mine: the second book in the Jane Austen Mystery Series. No, Jane didn’t really write these. Stephanie Barron did, but her pen sounds so much like Jane that it’s mesmerizing.
And for quite some time, I was mesmerized . . . until . . . I was overtaken . . . by an intense desire for . . .
A nap. A 2-hour nap to be exact on my very messy, very comfortable bed. And I ask you, is there anything better than falling asleep to the sound of rain? Well, nothing except maybe waking up to the sound of even MORE rain. Which brings me here:
To my cozy home office. Yes, I know my hair is heinous. And yes, I know sleeveless is not a good look for me at 53. But I care not, because it is still raining outside that window beside my desk, and I am feeling sublimely rested and inspired to do one more thing: write and ask you . . .
Have you been going hard, too? Maybe it’s the daily commute, the Monday through Friday work week, the weekend full of errands and catching up on every other part of your life, or being a mom and having zero days off and zero vacation days. You KNOW what going hard means, don’t you?
But on those rare occasions, when God does give you an hour or two or three, or a day, or even a weekend, do you rest?
God built us to go hard. But He also built us to need a Sabbath. He even showed us how to do it:
“And by the seventh day God completed His work which he had done; and he rested on the seventh day from all His which He had done.” Gen. 2:2 NASB
Yesterday, God gave me a rainy Sunday Sabbath. And I seized it. And rested. But the truth is, I know He’s given me many opportunities to rest since August that I didn’t seize. That I didn’t even see. Because, honestly, I wasn’t looking — I was just going hard.
Today is Monday. Probably not a great day for a Sabbath, I know. But here’s something you can do today.
Tell God that you’ve been going hard. Tell Him that you’re tired. Share as much detail about why you’re tired as you want to – He’s a great listener. Then tell Him that you know He’s given you opportunities for a Sabbath rest, but you’ve been too busy to notice. Say you’re sorry. Now ask God to show you divine appointments, opportunities, and snatches of time for some Sabbath rest. And when He does show you, seize it. Take a Sabbath. Rest.
And one last thing: While you’re talking to God, you may want to ask Him for a little icing on your Sabbath Day cake: rain!
Keep loving Him most and seeking Him first, precious sister.
Your sister,
