Happy Mother’s Day!  Happy Mother’s Day!  

REST

REST!  Now that sounds wonderful.  That is exactly what every mom needs!  That is what I need!! 

With so many things to juggle, so many decisions to be made, and so many unexpected and unplanned happenings, the offer of Matthew 11:28  Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest,” is one I cannot refuse. 

 I can already envision myself on a white sandy beach in the Bahamas.  I am lying in a blue and white striped hammock between two stately green palm trees.  Every 30 minutes someone brings me a fresh glass of ice cold sweet tea in one of those fancy drink glasses with a little umbrella.  I have that book that I bought six months ago, and now I actually will have time to read it.  Now that would be rest.  How about you?  Maybe your perfect picture of REST is a getaway to the mountains, or a day at the mall shopping for nothing in particular with a $100 gift card.  For some moms, REST could simply be 5 minutes in the bathroom alone with no one banging on the door yelling MOM! 

Once again I immediately say that sounds great.  Sign me up.  Where do I register?  I gladly say to the Lord, here is my mess and I will be back in two weeks to see how you handled all of this.  Sounds wonderful, but giving up control is still not easy for me even though I have been blogging for over a year under the name "Out of Control" as I work on the control issue on a daily basis.  I still want a little control.  I still want what I want, but I will generously give God two weeks to make it happen.  This arrangement seems reasonable to me. Karon Goodman explains it this way,  “We have become so accustomed to ordering and orchestrating and planning and scheduling that it is incredibly hard to admit that not all is within our control.  Many decisions every day are ours to handle, and we get pretty good at taking care of things.  We believe that we could carry on even better if god would cooperate.  We demand the answers we need from Him, and yet we hear no response.  We question and condemn the intolerable delays in the events we need to happen in our lives, and yet nothing changes.  Doesn’t God know that we need those answers now?”
I am afraid that I live from this misguided perspective on many occasions. From God’s perspective, I have one foot in my hammock but the other one is squarely on the ground.  I am willing to share my plans, but I have set up very definite boundaries. One foot in a hammock and one foot on the ground is a very precarious way to live and not restful at all. There is a good chance a crash landing is on the horizon as the uneven weight distribution causes the hammock to do one of those crazy flips.

When God says He will give me rest, He means for me to give up all control, surrender, die to my ideas, my time frames, and my plans.  It means He will be handling my problems according to His plan and His timeline, and He does not need my help. I am determined to get both feet in the hammock this Mother's Day.  Praying you will rest in the Lord this Mother's Day and every day after.

Joyce Meyer writes this: 

“Good morning, this is God!  I will be handling all your problems today.  I will not need your help-so, have a good day.  I love you!”

Happy Mother’s Day!