If God doesn’t build the house,
the builders only build
shacks.
If God doesn’t guard the city,
the night watchman
might as well nap.
It’s useless to rise early and go to bed late,
and work your worried
fingers to the bone.
Don’t you know
God enjoys
giving rest to those he
loves? (Psalm 127:1-2)
When I was a college student, I used
to babysit for this family who has three kids. The older two were 7 and 9, but
the youngest was a curly haired three year old named Nona. The thing about Nona
is that she wants to do everything her older siblings do. Everything. She has
what the internet would call “Fear of Missing Out.” Even though they are much
bigger than her, faster, and stronger, she wanted to go everywhere they went and
do everything they did. And most of the time, it was fine, they were good
sports and she loved being with them.
The real trouble came at nap
time. Nona would be so dedicated to
staying with her siblings, who had outgrown naps, that she would struggle to
stay awake, insisting, “I no sleep!”
Putting her into her bed would be met with crying, and screams. But the longer she fights to stay awake, the
uglier her attitude gets, the more she fights with the big kids, and the worse
time we’re all having. Until sleep
finally wins her over and she drifts off, usually somewhere weird (next to her
toy box, on the dog bed, halfway under the couch, etc).
It wasn’t until recently that I
realized that too often, I am like Nona, and maybe you are too. Too often I am
so determined to do it all, to be the perfect spouse, employee, student,
daughter, sister, and friend that I work hard and drive myself to always be
thinking about what more I could be doing. Whether God’s blessing is on my
labor or not, is often left out of the consideration. Instead I am ruled by
fear, of letting people down, of missing out, of not doing enough or being
enough for the people who love me. And in those moments, as I wear myself thin,
and begin to get an ugly attitude to the people around me, it is often that I
have forgotten the truth.
I have forgotten that rest is a gift
God loves to give us. The same tenderness that we feel when that screaming
toddler turns into a sleeping cherub, is the way that God looks at us. Like “I
wish you would stop doing this to yourself. This will be better, easier, more
tolerable after you sleep.” God wants us to fight courageously for the things
that are righteous, and to work hard to build the kingdom of heaven on Earth,
but at the same time we are meant to receive the good gift that is rest. Today,
find some time, even just a minute, to really rest.
