My husband just gave me a wonderful gift: Time alone.
I don't know if it's because I have lived with five sons and all the constant activity that accompanies a large family, or if it's that I share almost every waking minute with my precious retired husband, or if it's just my temperament type, but sometimes I think that nothing sounds as appealing as as complete solitude.
Today I heard it officially from the doctor that examined me. She said I need REST. Now granted, this was my eye doctor, a wonderful woman who happens to be a dear friend of mine, but I'll take it as an professional opinion. She examined my eyes, declared that I indeed had a form of conjunctivitis that was viral. She explained to me that this means the body has to deal with it, and if we are depleted and exhausted, the body can't fight effectively. She recommended vitamins, afternoon naps, and some good relaxing books. She said I could say that I had "doctor's orders."
So why do we need permission? Why, tonight, did I feel so relieved when my husband volunteered to take the chicken pie that I had cooked for covered dish supper to our church, and let me stay home with a glass of wine and my pajamas on?
It seems that I never have the luxury of relaxing. I can understand why this would be so when there are little children in the home with all their demands, or when a person has to meet and greet the public every day, but I, being retired, feel that I should be in better control of my schedule. Why do I always feel pushed and pressured to "do" something?
I once heard heard someone say that God never puts more on us than we can handle...but people will! I think that is so true. Not that I can compare myself to Jesus, but I relate to the verse in Mark 1:35 that says, "Very early, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, and went to a solitary place, where He prayed." That was the secret of His success: His time alone with His Father. That's when He got direction concerning who needed healing, who needed deliverance from demons, and who needed mud on his eyes. It was His time of restoration, recovery, and rejuvenation. I first came to realize this when I read a wonderful book by Nancy Leigh deMoss, entitled A Place of Quiet Rest. It is one of those book that I reach for over, and have marked so much in the first copy that I had to get a new one. I recommend it to anyone.
Today, I needed that place of quiet rest. After Hubby left, I sat at our patio table, put on some worship music via i-tunes, and let the late afternoon sounds soothe me: the bird calls as they settled down for the night, the frog chirps, and other contented evening sounds that I couldn't identify.
In the background, I realize that the Christian worship leader on the computer is singing "those that wait on the Lord will be renewed..."
And I wait.
