Come, Rest

“Then, because so many people were coming and going

that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them,

‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’”

Mark 6: 31 (NIV)

            In my past, I have been known to rush around getting things done. I remember one December I decorated our living room in 45 minutes. That’s all the time I had that Saturday. Our son was in elementary school, he was in the church Christmas play-that practice was two hours long in the morning. The pastor’s wife and director of the play had chosen that afternoon to have the kids meet again at the church and go sing Christmas carols to some of the shut-ins. And we lived across town from the church.

            One May, I returned home from work at 5:00, jumped into the tub, washed my hair. I got out of the tub and blow dried my ‘crowning glory’, dressed, got into the car and drove across town to arrive at church 6:15 to meet the committee to register mothers and daughters and guests for the spring Mother-Daughter Banquet.

            Present day, I know I can’t and shouldn’t move that fast. Age and its related aches and pains have slowed me down considerably. Also, God has given me several beautiful insights.

            In 1995, I didn’t feel I could attend the spring Mother-Daughter Banquet of the church I was a part of. I touched on my reason for my decision as I visited a lady who attended my church and who knew part of my background. She said she understood my reasoning.

            The night before Mother’s Day, the traditional night for the banquet, our phone rang, my dad wanted to come talk to us. When I toe Hubby, he thought it had to do with my stepmother’s health.

            When Dad arrived, he told us he had been to Indy to one of the heart hospitals. Previous to that trip, he had ‘flunked’ a stress test ordered by his primary care doctor. The medical personnel at the heart hospital wanted to admit him. He told them he couldn’t because the friend who took him down had to get home to receive a breathing treatment.

            The three of us talked. Hubby and I knew the importance of following up on this bad test result. We told Dad we would take him back down to the hospital when he could get an appointment.

            As I reflected on the happenings of that evening, I realized God had arranged for me to be home that evening. You see, as close as I can tell, Dad called about the time the banquet began.

            God allowed me to find peace about my decision as I had realized my friend truly understood my reason for not going to that banquet. But God had His own reason. He knew I needed to hear Dad’s news directly. God taught me a lot that May. But, in order to do it I had to be willing to step away from what everyone else was doing and allow Him to strengthen me for what lay ahead.

            Our trip down to the heart hospital resulted in Dad having emergency heart bypass surgery and a two week stay in that hospital. I wouldn’t have made it through without the help of God, praying friends, and my family.