My mom taught tried to teach me many important things growing up. Often times, they were things I needed to hear, but didn’t necessarily want to hear. (There is a lot of truth behind the saying, “Mom is always right!”). In high school and college she would say, “Savannah, you are so busy, you need to slow down.” I worked part-time, went to two different schools in order to take as many classes as possible and somehow still had time to grab coffee or go shopping with friends. At the end of the day (of almost every day) I was extremely exhausted. In my mind cramming my schedule to the max was a good thing. Somehow, someway, I was doing myself a favor by constantly having something (multiple things) on my plate. If I had checked off most of my to-do list- I felt accomplished.
God slowly ripped the fast-paced, busy life from my hands when the race started. Going into Mozambique I had this grand idea I was going to be constantly busy. The opposite was true. There were days when we had little to nothing to do. THIS MADE ME SO HAPPY! FRUSTRATED. “Really, God? I did not come here to do nothing.” His response after a few days was, “Child, how do you expect to love and minister to those around you if you are so burned out yourself? You need to rest.” Mozambique was a month of learning what it truly means to BE STILL and to REST. It was glorious and now, seven months later, I’m extremely thankful for the things learned in month one.
Coming into month nine, knowing we were going to teach English, I thought for sure are schedules would be packed full. We were homeschooling our contacts children during the day the first week and running English classes at night- making for pretty long days. The wife is pregnant and due any day, so the family headed to a different city to prepare for the birth of their daughter. Since the family has left, our days are spent grading papers and passing out flyers for the English center and weeknights are filled with classes in two hour blocks.
I walked into this month being told I needed:
TO REST. TO BE STILL. TO BREATHE.
TO SOAK IN THE MOMENTS WITH THE LORD THAT TAKE MY BREATH AWAY AND LEAVE ME SPEECHLESS.
On Sunday, the guys and I decided to hike up a cliff and make declarations over the city- so began my journey of rest. My body was so physically exhausted; I had no choice but to rest after coming down the mountain.
This morning when I woke up God reminded me that I don’t always have to be doing something in order to feel accomplished- my hands don’t always have to be washing laundry, doing dishes, reading, or writing. I can actually be idle and accomplish a lot. Not being rested and trying to cram my day full of things that “have to be done” is not living life the way God intended life to be lived. He intended for His children to take time to soak in the beauty of His creation, the beauty of His truths, the beauty of who He is. The laundry can wait for an hour (or longer) if that means seizing the opportunity to look at the extravagant colors in the jungle and gaze upon His beauty.
The mile-long list of things to do can wait when a child is begging for you to play with him for five more minutes. The mile-long list can wait when a friend calls and is in dire need of someone to listen. The mile-long list can wait until we truly prioritize our time and discover what really matters.
"The important things are the things that will remain for eternity when everything else fades away."
We don’t know what we are missing when we fill our lives with busyness because we focus so much on the next task needing to be finished. Yet, it is of utmost importance to relax, be still, and take time to gaze upon the beauty of our Creator.
Just BREATHE.
