I was invited by several friends to join them in choosing one word for the year. If you know me at all, you know I am a fairly purpose driven woman with clear goals and objectives on a daily basis. Lists? LOVE THEM. I keep a running card on my desk at all times with way more activities than I could possibly accomplish in any day. I scratch them off with great pleasure and fervor. The ones that don’t get done today go on my card for tomorrow. I regularly have 4 or 5 balls in the air at any given time. And special needs parenting? Well, I don’t have to tell you… you get it. It just adds several MORE balls to the already busy juggling act that is our lives.
So when my friends asked me to join this exercise instead of traditional goal setting — something I enjoy every year as I look forward to January 1st — I pondered. I decided to do the readings and see if God spoke to me through them. I was unconvinced but open to consider it.
As I thought about this exercise before the readings I knew several great words for the year: How about ADVENTURE! I tend to be a worker bee and my son and I have decided to make an initial stab at the Appalachian Trail this summer for a week or two. Adventure would be a good word! Or how about CONQUER! There are so many challenges out there that I want to take on. Maybe FUN! I need that. (Review worker bee comments above.) What about CONNECT? I want to connect more to people in every walk of my life. Or even JOY! That would be a great word for the new year and always something in need for a special needs parent.
But as I reviewed the readings and prayerfully considered this journey, the ONLY word that lingered, no, WOULD NOT LEAVE ME ALONE (!) was this:
REST
Rest.
Really God? I have all this energy and passion and drive and you are calling me to REST!?!?
Not that I argued with Him (of course) but you get the picture. I have hesitated to even say it aloud because it is so overwhelming to really consider.
Oh I could teach a seminar on the spiritual lessons of rest in the Word. I have loads of head knowledge about the various passages of scripture speaking to rest. How about these:
- Genesis 2:2, God ended His work… and He rested….
- Exodus 33:14 My presence shall go with you and I will give you rest….
- Joshua 1:13 The Lord your God gives you rest….
- Eccl. 4:6 One hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind….
- Isaiah 30:15 In repentance and rest you will be saved, in quietness and trust is your strength….
- Matt. 11:28 -29 Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, 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….
- Hebrews 4:11 Let us be diligent to enter that rest….
But head knowledge and heart knowledge are two VERY different things and I have NO CLUE what it means to rest. Oh I go to bed at a decent hour and I try to get in my 8 hours of sleep every night. But that is a far cry from “rest.”
Rest is a state of being that I do not possess. I have no clue what this year holds for me. And if I am honest about it, this journey of entering REST rather terrifies me.
But I am compelled. I feel God calling me to learn what it means to truly REST.
So you may be hearing more about this in the coming months as I take a day at a time, learning from the one whose yoke is easy and burden is light.
And here is the picture of my screensaver which reminds me of the call:
Warmly,
Shannon
Shannon Royce
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