This week has been a very off week for me. Normally I am the punctual person; the one who gets work done ahead of time and even any possible extra credit. I am that academic sort of goody-two-shoes who arrives to class early, reads everything she is supposed to, and avoids the social activities for the sake of a grade.
However, this week has been completely and ever so....Off.
I found myself missing classes for homework and group projects. I was scrambling right before class to get work done. Nothing seemed to be going right. I arrived to work late, went to bed extra late, and woke up early with the hope of enough time and ability to exert some level of concentration and effort. However, that is just the surface of this week.
You know how a light bulb only works when it is plugged in? Even then, it only has so much ability to produce light before it just has to be thrown away altogether. I think when we refer to a person as such, we use the term "burnt out." Well, my light bulb was nearing its end. However, this week, I found my time to recharge and restore in the most uncanny of moments. What follows is a brief synopsis:
Tuesday: I was supposed to meet up with someone to conduct an interview as part of a class project. Due to communication failures, I missed work for the sake of this interview in vain. However, I took advantage of the waiting time to work on homework. In the midst of realizing that all I could do was wait for my interviewee to show up, I gained peace and just worked on homework. There can be something very peaceful about waiting in the midst of chaos and setting aside all you have to do....Allowing yourself to focus on one thing and one thing alone.
Wednesday: I again attempted an interview, this time with a different interviewee. I was ready to miss a mandatory chapel if I had to for this interview. I skipped a class (ironically the class this project was/is for) to make this happen. However, my project partner and I called the interviewee with no response. We waited for a call back, and still nothing. So I sat there on a bench in a quiet hallway and just prayed. It was not an extravagant moment; but again, it was a peaceful moment where I realized I could not do anything about it. There is such a peace in accepting the fact that you cannot do anything more.
Thursday: I woke up early to work on homework that was due later that day. I then received a text from someone to interview, and they wanted to get together that evening. In the midst of figuring out a time, I did not get the rest of my homework done for class that day. I was going to have to miss an evening class to make this happen. However, blessings were reaped. I still managed to get everything taken care of for my class that day, my dinner was paid for as a result of the interview, and I missed my night class, a PE class, offering my swollen, painful ankle to rest (the joys of tendinitis). This week has been all about learning to rest, to be OK with where I am at, and to find peace in knowing who God is (and letting that be enough).
OK, so maybe that was not quite the definition of a brief synopsis, but the point is that a lot of uneasy events ended up being little reminders and blessings from my heavenly Father to rescue me away from my stress and rest in His presence of peace. Sometimes when you choose to go hard for too long, He calls you out of that. He didn't created the Sabbath and make it holy for nothing.
So, this takes me back to the title of this post. Off. I need to take time off from being busy and just simply be. This is when we find satisfaction. Being in the presence of God is a beautiful thing that you never have to walk out of. To constantly consider yourself as in the presence of God will change the way you view the moments in which you are in a rush but waiting in line for your caffeine boost at Starbucks. It is a chance to experience a moment of peace, or rest in His presence, and to remind yourself that as the bride of Christ you are called to rest in Him, to be still and know who He is.
Psalm 46:10 says "be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted among the earth."
The "be still" in this verse comes from the Hebrew word "rapha," meaning "to let go, be weak, or release."
So, dear readers, remember to take time and be still in every moment you find the opportunity. Seek the opportunities! Seek rest in Christ--you will find it. Take time off to get back on track!
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