First Presbyterian Church

I was given a very precious gift from our Heavenly Father this weekend...it was the gift of nothing. With the bad weather cancelling everything from my children’s activities to even church services on Sunday, I was forced just to relax for a couple of days. Because I didn’t have to be anywhere and because I couldn’t get anywhere, I gave myself the permission to stop and rest. I played out in the snow with Madison, Kinsley, and Mollie; I read a book I had been meaning to get to; and I even did a little “work” around the house which really wasn’t work.

By being forced to slow down this weekend, I began to see even more clearly the truth of what I have been sharing in my sermons and newsletters over the past month. We do live in a “high velocity” society that carries us along with the rush of so many activities. We become so accustomed to the “rush” that we don’t even know we are in the middle of it. So it takes a major snow storm to slow us down enough to show us that perhaps we do need to take some quiet time to ourselves now and again.

God understood this when he gave us the gift of keeping Sabbath. God wanted His people to rest one day out of seven so that they could not only glorify him but also be re-energized. In the 21st century, we tend to see Sabbath keeping as a burdensome command rather than the beautiful promise it is. We say we don’t have time to rest, and yet this weekend showed me that the world did just fine without me for a couple of days. Perhaps you discovered the same thing. God has given us the permission to rest one day a week, and we cheat ourselves when we don’t use and enjoy the gift.

Resting, however, doesn’t just have to be a "one day a week" kind of thing. Each day, we can take a few moments to sit quietly in the presence of God. We can read a passage from the bible for five minutes; quietly reflect on it for 5 minutes; and then pray about whatever is on our mind for five minutes. Consider it a 15 minute “school closing” that you can use to rest in God. This is one way that you can nourish your spirit in the midst of the rush of your lives.

May God grant you and me the desire and ability to rest in Christ.
Your friend and pastor,
Pastor Lee