A Forced Rest

"He makes me lie down in green pastures..."

Probably one of the most well-known passages in all of the Bible, Psalm 23 is often used as to speak peace to someone who is in turmoil or to being comfort to someone in fear or pain.

My daughter has memorized Psalm 23.  I have heard it at several funerals.  I have said it at night as I am trying to sleep and my brain won't shut off.

This week, I am in the green pastures lying down.  Because I'm on vacation?  No..  Because I have been forced to rest.

I am in the last month of pregnancy and having some complications and my doctor has said, "REST!"  Do not overdo it.  Rest for your health and the health of the baby.  Rest.

I have a tendency to overdo it.  I am a doer.  A mover.  A shaker.  An overachiever.  A "yes" person.

And I pay for it sometimes.  I get overwhelmed.  Exhausted.  Burned Out.  I feel pressure to perform.  I feel guilty for saying no.  I tend to always feel in a hurry, even when I don't need to be rushed at all.  I have codependent tendencies.

There have been specific times in my life that the Lord has had to "make me lie down in green pastures".  Faced with a bout of clinical depression at one point, my counselor said to me that he would just write me a prescription for a very long vacation if he could.  I needed to rest.  I needed to take better care of myself.

So with this forced rest I am on now, I have had to say no to many people.  To several opportunities.  I have had to be still for many hours at a time.  I have had to let people help me. (Ouch!)  I have had to have Jesus remind me that more important than being a "doer" is "being with Jesus".

I am hoping that I am learning the lesson of resting and further along in that journey than before.  After all, it is much better to develop a habit of rest, a sabbath, than to have to submit to a forced rest.

So, do yourself a favor... REST!

Blessings!