Rest and be Thankful

It's good to rest for a day.

Time just to be by yourself, or with family or friends.
Space to renew one's energy and enthusiasm.
Opportunity to consider life and what it's about.

In today's manic world it's hard to stop.
Our lives are full of bulging To-Do lists, overloaded Inboxes, piles of paper, undone chores, and neglected friends.

If we stop and rest then we feel like we are wasting time.
None of our pending tasks are getting done.
The lists are growing while we look like we are avoiding our duties.

But it seems to me that life is more about being than doing.
If we fill our lives with doing then we'll miss out on being.

In olden times a shepherd asked God what his name is.
And God replied 'I am'.
It's the same verb as 'being'.

When people want to know more about you how often do they ask "What do you do?"
Or when you are introducing yourself you tell people what your job is.
How often do you reply to the question "Who are you" with your job title rather than your name?
And if you have no job then it can feel that you are nobody.
When we are unemployed it can seem like life has become meaningless.

But who you are is more impotant than what you do.

That was one of the pieces of Good News that Jesus brought.
You are one of God's creations and he wants you to be his child.
What you do is far less important than who you are.

On the road from Loch Lomond to Inverary the old military road travels along the flat floor of Glen Croe and then rises up very steeply at the head of the valley. It was such an arduous climb that the section of road gained the name 'Rest and be Thankful', recorded on a memorial stone in 1753 by the soldiers who built the road.

It's not such a bad slogan to adopt ourselves.

Rest and be Thankful!