Five Minute Friday: Rest

I don't think that the word rest has been a word I've known and used much for the first 35+ years of my life.  It was literally a "four-letter word" and I don't think I ever chose to put that word into practice by my own free will.

I wasn't a hyper child, but I was busy.  I wasn't a hyper teen-ager, but I was driven.  I wasn't a hyper adult, but I was always setting goals and making plans - - - and then exceeding them and making more.

It's interesting for me to look back and see that over this last year this word has taken on a new meaning.  I have encountered many health struggles and challenges that have taken my abilities away and have made me have to adjust to limitations for the first time in my life.

That has been very hard and painful for me.

At the same time, I have been learning the meaning of what it means to rest in the peace and promises of the LORD in a way I have never had to before.

Before hitting this physical wall, I was always able to put off the need for a balanced life; I was addicted to accomplishment and achievement.  Rest seemed like something you would do in retirement, when you had time to kill or a body that wasn't functioning at high levels anymore.

I will always wonder if me avoiding rest for the beginning of my life has been a huge factor in the health problems I have developed now as a late 30-something.  I will never know.

What I do know is that rest is considered a blessing from the LORD - and I am grateful for His lessons and Grace as I learn how to embrace a more balanced life and the rejuvenation that comes from resting in Him.

Psalm 16

A miktam^[a] of David.

¹ Keep me safe, my God,
    for in you I take refuge.

² I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
    apart from you I have no good thing.”
³ I say of the holy people who are in the land,
    “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”
⁴ Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.
    I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods
    or take up their names on my lips.

⁵ Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
    you make my lot secure.
⁶ The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
    surely I have a delightful inheritance.
⁷ I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
    even at night my heart instructs me.
⁸ I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
    With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

⁹ Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
    my body also will rest secure,
¹⁰ because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
    nor will you let your faithful^[b] one see decay.
¹¹ You make known to me the path of life;
    you will fill me with joy in your presence,
    with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 62^[a]

For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.

¹ Truly my soul finds rest in God;
    my salvation comes from him.
² Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
    he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

³ 

⁵ Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
    my hope comes from him.
⁶ Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
    he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
⁷ My salvation and my honor depend on God^[c];
    he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
⁸ Trust in him at all times, you people;
    pour out your hearts to him,
    for God is our refuge.

Psalm 116:7

New International Version (NIV)

⁷ Return to your rest, my soul,
    for the Lord has been good to you.

Five Minute Friday Post: "See"

See

I've been trying to see out of glasses that have been damaged for a while now, and in doing so, it has been affecting so much of my ability to carry on with normal life.  I find myself squinting my eyes to see through the lenses, my eyes are feeling tired, and I know that my dizziness and headaches can be due to my eyes being challenged in this way.  But, I resist getting them fixed due to time issues and the unknown details of working out the financial details with my eye doctor's office to have them repaired.

So, I continue to deal with horrible glasses and the trickle-down issues that seriously affect my daily life.  I resist making it a priority to change or fix something so simple because of the unknown cost it will take.

.... Aren't we like that with other things too, especially of a spiritual nature?

I know that God's truth, the reading of the Word, is like putting on a pair of glasses that give you the ability to see things for how they really are and give you the ability to discern right from wrong.  When we were born with our sinful natures we were each born with flawed eyesight and we need the glasses of Truth to give us the ability to see things in a Godly way.  Too often we continue to reject the very thing that can give us clear eyesight and continue to stumble along in life not able to see things clearly.  When things get dark we may even get afraid of not being able to find our way along the rocky path in the blurriness of our uncorrected eyesight.

The sad part of life is this:  we all have been given the opportunity to choose to put on the glasses of Truth of the WORD to be able to see everything more clearly and better find the obstacles in our path.  I pray today that I will remember to pick up the Word, read it, and then apply it to my life so that my vision is clear and the things of this life will come into better focus.

Maybe I will even make that dreaded eye doctor appointment to get my glasses fixed.  :-)

This post is part of the Five Minute Friday Post at  The Gypsy Mama

Opportunity - 5 Minute Friday

Opportunity....

I am on the cusp of being able to live my dream - - - and that thought of that overwhelms me sometimes.  I have been given the chance, the calling, the opportunity to invest my life in my husband, children, and our home "full-time" for the first time in my life and the reality of it both excites and overwhelms me.  I want to do this thing "right"- I want to make sure to cross my t's and dot those i's and not leave anything to chance.  I want to be intentional and make every minute count... and then perfectionism rears her ugly head.

I've lived under the thumb of not feeling like I measure up, that I am failing myself and those that depend on me - - even when I know that the reality of that isn't true.  I can see the truth of what I am doing each day, I know the effort I am putting out, but I admit that I still fight the feelings and sin of trying to look like I have it all together.

To combat that old rut of perfectionism and it's cousin, fear of failure, I know that I will need to focus on what is inside my four walls each day, spend time in laughter and in enjoying the satisfaction of working and learning together to make an awesome life for the five of us - and it's going to be such a wonderful time, I know it.

I will admit here and now that this opportunity doesn't come to me easily and I cherish my husband's hard work and listening ear to God's leading of our family into this.  I have prayed for this chance for so long; it truly is an answer to prayer.

 I will not let the fear of failure steal my destiny and rob me of my opportunity to step into God's leading and call upon my life during this blessed season of mothering, teaching, and ministry.  If you drop by my house from now on, be prepared to encounter messy, blessed, happy, chaotic, and cherished moments of the five of us living out life together.  I wouldn't want to miss the opportunity of what is to come as I follow Him into the next step of life and learning.

This post is part of the Five Minute Friday Post at  The Gypsy Mama

Five Minute Friday: Perspective

Perspective

This word brings to mind the ability to grow through experiences in life, the good and the bad.  I know, for me, gaining perspective has come at a great price.  It has only been through going through dark valleys that I have been able to learn of the possibility of the mountaintops.  Being able to keep perspective, correct perspective, is something that comes when we fix our eyes on Jesus, no matter what we may be facing.

It's interesting that no two people are alike in how we view life; two people standing in the same place will have two completely different perspectives on things.  I used to feel threatened when I wouldn't be the same as the next person, when I would have to stand alone in my convictions or when I felt like I was wrong somehow in standing out and being unique.

Age brings experience and through that experience, better angles of perspective in life and relationships.  We learn what is crucial, what is important, and what is just silly and wastes time.  I for one pray that I can keep my perspective focused on what is real and lasting and that my focus, my point of reference, will be on my LORD.

This post is part of the Five Minute Friday Post at  The Gypsy Mama

5 minute Friday Post: Goodbye

Goodbye

Out of all of the words in the English language, this is the one that I can admit makes me feel so uncomfortable.  I do not like saying goodbye or the whole process of leaving as it seems like such a sad word.  There have been many people that I have said goodbye to this year, wishing that I could change the circumstances to just say "see you later" or something along those lines.  Goodbye seems so final, so closed, so permanent.

My sister Elena is following her dream to become involved in the media industry.  She's my "baby" sister, in her mid 20's, ready to make her mark on the world and impact others for God.  She moved out of state to pursue that dream and is in Texas as a home base as she travels the US.  I remember hugging her and not being able to say goodbye, knowing in my heart that she may never come "home" again.  

Sometimes goodbyes are thrust upon you through the death of a friend; a friend of mine died due to suicide last month and I was forced to say goodbye without closure, without peace about her death, without seeing her that one more time.  In saying goodbye, we turn ahead to what life has for us without that person in it anymore, physically or literally.  Either way, it's not something I like too much, but it's a fact of life that with God's help I have learned to face.

When it's my turn to say goodbye to those I love, whether in moving away or in leaving this world when the LORD calls me home, I pray that in those goodbyes there are smiles amid the tears.  I pray that my presence here made a difference in those who loved me, that my final hugs and words will bring glory to my Father and His Grace.  In saying goodbye, may I remember that the legacy I leave will always remain in the hearts and lives of those I touched... and in that, there are no final goodbyes but only "I will see you later!"

Amen!