This is the view from where I sit. The literal feet of Jesus. Or at least a statue of Jesus. Pretty good, right?
Some days are filled with beauty and wonder. Others are filled with chaos, worry and stress. It’s amazing how quickly distracted I can be from the God of peace I daily choose to serve. Yet moment by moment, hour by hour, trial by fleeting trial I am distracted by the swirling stresses and worries of this world.
And so today I needed rest. I needed rest in Him.
After an overnight bus ride across the Bolivian desert lands, with bumps and heat all throughout the night and little sleep, no food, no water and quite the headache and stomach cramps… all I could ask for was rest.
But I couldn’t get it how and when I wanted.
We needed to get tickets for our next overnight bus ride, adding up to about 30 hours on the road. I had to answer emails and check in with teams. I (long overdue) talked to my family only to find out my littlest sister was being taken to the doctor. There were endless amounts of things we had to do, but all I wanted was to find a place to lay my head. I was restless, I was frustrated, I was tired and worried and stressed. All I wanted was some peace.
It was as if the loads and worries of my life, my responsibilities, and my deepest cares were all crashing in on me. To sleep would have subsided my overwhelming nerves, but it wouldn’t have given me peace- just a little nap until I awoke to the same problems around me.
And then we literally found Jesus.
Arms outstretched. Bigger than life. Amidst the chaos and business of the bustling city of Cochabama, Bolivia, we found His garden of rest atop the mountains, within the warmth of the sun and the beauty of the snowcapped Andes mountains.
And there I literally laid down at the feet of Jesus and found my rest.
He says, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest…”
And today, I found He LITERALLY means it. Sometimes all I need is to simply find the feet of Jesus and rest. I have to remember that He is much bigger than me. He sees it all, every person and every moment met with eyes wide open. He welcomes us arms outstretched, with our mess and our chaos, out of His great love and mercy. And He gives us rest. His burden is easy and light- His burden is to simply love Him. And in our choice to love we find the ability, the desire and the FREEDOM to love and serve the world around us. We are not burdened by the things we ultimately cannot control, our responsibilities and worries alike. But He sees it all, and He welcomes us into His rest, because He knows the plans He has for us, some trials and some triumphs. He does not give us things we cannot handle with His strength, and at the end of the day He sets the sun to remind us it is He who makes it rise again in the morning…
And there we find peace.
And there we find rest.
So take a moment, rest at the feet of Jesus. Remember who He is, and find your own insignificance in His gloriously grand presence. We are far too small to carry the weight of the world, but with Him, in His rest and within His love we find our strength to greet another day.
