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I want to talk about rest. I really want this blog to make sense, and to resonate with some people, and to clearly get across what I’m trying to say.

 

This weekend, and friend and I took a roadtrip up to Georgia to visit some dear friends. My friends in Georgia live with their beautiful family in a beautiful house on a beautiful lake. The town they live in is kind of small, and some places are kind of run down, but overall, I think it is kind of beautiful. The church they attend and work at meets at a beautiful building, and it is full of beautiful people.

 

While I see the beauty in a lot of things in this little town, that is not what draws me back again and again. While I love my friends and cherish time spent with them, that is not what draws me back again and again.

And while I love what I learn from these friends while on these all-too-short weekend trips, that is not entirely why I am drawn back to this place again and again.

 

This family, at least on the two weekends that I have spent with them, understand what rest looks like.

 

Don’t get me wrong. They have busy schedules. They have meetings and attend church and bible study, and they invest in other peoples’ lives, they homeschool their children and raise them up well, and they exert a lot of energy working hard to further the Kingdom in their little Georgia town, the US, and the world.

 

But they get rest. They understand what rest looks like. At least, I think so. They may disagree. But I’ve never seen a family just sit and be, rather than have to be doing things. Last night, Saturday, we spent a good couple of hours just sitting in the living room and quietly reading, doing whatever little bits of work we needed to do, and even working a little bit on a 1000 piece puzzle.

 

Normally, I would feel so stressed and anxious doing work in such quiet on a Saturday night.

 

Scratch that.

 

Normally, I would not consider that rest. Rest for me is normally an hour long nap on a Tuesday after my Restoration History class, or sitting on my bed watching Netflix movies trying to numb my brain before bed.

 

But sitting in that living room, the world getting dimmer and dimmer beyond the big bay windows, doing homework and reading is relaxing. It was restful. Full of rest.

 

Those couple of hours spent relaxing separately, but together, was full of rest.

 

At least, in my mind it was restful. The last time I visited, I left feeling extremely rested, too. Maybe it’s because we get about ten hours of sleep on Saturday night, because our friends must wake up super early for church the next day. Or perhaps it’s just because it is a different atmosphere, different people to spend time with.

 

All I know is that both times I’ve left Georgia and visiting this family, I am rested. Ready to take on tomorrow. Ready to begin a new day. Reminding myself that each day is full of new mercies, each day is full of new chances to bring glory to the King.

 

It does a heart good to spend time with people who let you rest, and who are okay with just “being.” Sometimes that’s what I need. I am so blessed and thankful that God has put such people in my life.