Rest, Restore, Recharge, Repair.

My heart is hungry for peace. Not peace as in, lack of panic or fear... peace as in quiet.

Here I sit, with both children asleep in their beds and I'm breathing the silence in deeply. I'm asking it to restore me and recharge me. In minutes I'll get up to start dinner. Clean the mess left behind by the two whirlwinds who are my children and change the laundry from the washer to the dryer. But for this moment, I am resting. I am letting out a deep sigh and embracing the autumn chill in the air and the bright scene of rainbow leaves outside my window.

In this season, when God has been saying so much to me about waiting, I am realizing that part of waiting is also being still. "Be still, and know that I am God." To wait on God also means trusting that in our "not doing anything" He is.

As a mother there are constantly a million thoughts racing through my mind. Is the laundry ready to come out? Did I leave the stove top on after making the kids lunch? Did I just hear the baby wake from her nap? Did I remember to give the kids their vitamins this morning? Was my appointment today or is it next week? Did I remind my husband to pick up milk on the way home? As mothers, it's natural for us to "control" our homes. We are the captains of these ships, and we feel responsible for running them tightly. But yesterday at MOPS an older mama stood up and urged us to take "M-ahhhhh-mmy" moments. To sit and rest for a few minutes to recharge, regroup and repair. In the moments of stillness, we gain strength. It is that way with mothering, and it's that way with life.

God asks us to sit and rest because He designed us to NEED REST. We need to wait. There is a reason God set the example by resting on the seventh day after creating the world. Even the Creator took a rest. "put His feet up" so to speak.

One key to always remember however, is that not all "rest" recharges. Be intentional with your rest. Have you ever gotten up from the couch and still felt weary--sometimes even wearier than when you sat down? Don't confuse resting your body with resting your soul. True, life giving rest comes only from the presence of the Father.

Join me today in resting your soul. In sitting before God--waiting on Him and receiving His rest and recharge.