To Rest, In Rest – December 10, 2022 (365/365)

Well, here goes.

I’m typing while with my team, here at the beach. Well, not literally ON the beach as I type, but in our room, which really is more of an apartment. Two of them are preparing breakfast, while the other two are at the dining table on their cellphones, low-key waiting for everything to be cooked. One is on the sofa which can pass for a bed, shifting between dozing off and going through her own cellphone. I suspect she’s also low-key waiting for breakfast. Then there’s another one on the front porch, working out. One of the kids just got out of bed, and is currently… low-key waiting for breakfast.

I don’t know, I suppose I’d take a mental snapshot of what’s going on before I go any further.

I’ve come a long way with these folks. They’ve stuck with me through trying times, though we’ve yet to encounter situations that would really, really try our commitment with each other. They’ve been with me in celebration, and they’ve also facilitated, so that others would join in the celebrations as well.

I couldn’t say they’re perfect. Not by any means. In fact, if asked about their deficiencies, I could come up with a list, easy. Fill up the 1000-word requirement, real fast. But they are who I’ve got, and I don’t think I’m going to be rid of them any time soon.

DO I want to be rid of them? Part of me says no, but part of me sincerely wants them gone. Not that I don’t want them around, but I do want them to fly. To explore. I want them out of their comfort zones, not for them to suffer, but for them to get uncomfortable, and in so doing, learn things about others and about themselves that they wouldn’t learn without pain. Though part of me says that I still need to spend some time with them because I feel as if I haven’t imparted everything that I wanted them to hear from me… I feel as if I haven’t equipped them with what I think they need when the pain does come.

All this considered, I pray that they do continue to learn, and in their learning, they would continue to live. And as they continue to live, they would continue to learn. And as they continue to flow within this cycle of living and learning, and learning and living, I pray that they would personally appreciate the Foundation that keeps them standing upright, the Hope that serves as the Anchor of their souls.

I don’t see much in terms of growth… but then again, it’s not up to me. Even in what seems like delays, I can be confident, because, as the Word shares – ‘It is God who gives the growth’. Perhaps, more than the growth, I think what I need to work on, in my own cycle of living and learning, is to see how we can all live and learn together.

This is in line with what I have to share as a theme for our upcoming New Year’s Day message – We were overwhelmed, and so we move.

…and as we move, we get overwhelmed. And as we are overwhelmed, so we move.

I only saw overwhelming and movement as a linear pattern before I hit the keyboard this morning. Apparently, I’ve stumbled upon a cycle here. I’m pushing for living and learning, and learning and living; Now it seems I’m pushing for getting overwhelmed, and moving; and moving, and getting overwhelmed.

Awe to action, Action to awe… and all this time, secure, appreciating that the Rock on whom we stand is just as much the Rock on whom we run.

What a wonderful thought. What a suitable perspective to worship: Action IN Awe, and Awe IN Action, as opposed to how we used to operate… Or, well, I could at least say that it’s another way to see things, not necessarily replacing Action TO Awe, and Awe TO Action. I’m not about to spurn our intentional actions to express our adoration (i.e. time intentionally set aside for worship by way of singing and/or dancing), nor am I fully rejecting how other people still need to have the motivation to act – or, being in awe before acting.

I ask myself, do I see the difference? Sure. What I’m introducing or advocating for myself here sounds similar to how I used to write about rest – that we move in rest, and we rest as we move. I guess what I’m trying to do here is to insinuate that awe works the same way – so we move in awe and rest, and we are in awe and rest in movement – Gosh, I’m not sure that makes any sense. Obviously more clarification is needed.

But I suppose we’ve stumbled on something once again – the link between awe and rest. We are at rest when we are at awe. We are in awe when we are at rest. Perhaps I should think about this before thinking about action. Perhaps I should clarify, how this is how being overwhelmed looks like, before jumping into what movement looks like.

Sorry, folks. I mean, I’m thinking, and literally learning as I type word after word.

I think the notion of being overwhelmed by way of feeling awe is something a majority of us already understand – it’s more of our being overwhelmed by way of feeling rest that we need to think about. And it’s no accident that I thought of buying a book at that conference I attended recently, which talks about the exact same thing – rest. I’ve only gone through the first chapters, but I feel like I want to finish that book, before anything else.

I do want to share what I’ve learned from the book from the first chapters so far – That we were to consider how the Lord didn’t rest on the seventh day of creation because He was tired… but because He was satisfied. I feel as if exhaustion is what brings us to sleep – but it’s satisfaction, and exhilaration that seemingly ironically brings us to rest.

…and rest I shall, if only to be brought to remembering what satisfied me, and what left me exhilarated.

Folks, we’ve come a long way, and I know this barely passes as something to write and post as the final entry for this year’s set of 365. I’d like to thank you – for reading, for clicking, for whatever you did to interact; I wasn’t really expecting anyone to read, much less subscribe to my ramblings.

I’ll keep doing better. But for now… breakfast awaits.

Until the next post, God bless you.