I Will Give You Rest

Have you ever been really ill?  I'm not talking about sick; I'm talking about angry.  Angry beyond words.  Angry to the point that you're ready to pull your hair out.  Angry enough to yell at anyone who has the audacity to look at or speak to you.  That kind of angry.  Please say "yes."  Don't tell me I'm the only one.  And, please don't tell me that I'm the only one who gets upset over the dumbest things.

For example, last night I completely lost my cool.  You see, for three weeks now I've been trying to get to bed earlier.  I am not a night owl.  I need my sleep, and I need plenty of it.  So, I like to be in bed by 10:00 at the latest.  Unfortunately, with all the hustle and bustle of the last few weeks, I've been doing good to get in bed by 11:30.  But last night, I made plans.  I informed Jason of my decision.  I made all the necessary arrangements to make sure that I could be in bed by 9:30 at the latest.  And it worked. . . sort of.

Around 9:15, I stumbled to bed, eager to finally get a good night's sleep.  After turning on my soft music and turning out the light, I crawled into my warm bed and snuggled in for some serious sleep.  Within just a couple of minutes, I realized that the television in the living room was loud.  Too loud, in fact, for me to tune it out.  So, I rose from my comfortable spot and closed the bedroom door.  Ahh, peace and quiet.

I dozed off rather quickly but had only been asleep for about an hour and a half when Tippy came plodding into the bedroom.  Evidently, she was ready for bed too.  Jason followed her in and placed her in her new little bed.  He then left the room.  For the next half hour, I listened to Tippy lick her paws, her tail, her bed and her blanket.  I tried to drown out the noise, but it was too much.  I tried popping her on the bottom and even the head to get her to stop her incessant licking, but no, she was in one of her stubborn moods.  (Little did she know, so was I!)

I marched into the living room and declared to Jason that if he was going to stay up all night I was going to bring Tippy back out into the living room with him.  He could keep an eye on her and listen to her incessant grooming.  Bless his patient little heart!  Sensing the frustration and fatigue in my tone, he turned everything off and came to bed with me.  By that time, Tippy had worn herself out and nearly fallen asleep.  Figures!  So, instead of sleeping from 9:30 until 7:00 this morning, I finally drifted off somewhere around midnight, tense and frustrated beyond belief.  And guess what?  Now I'm tired and groggy. . . and perhaps a bit moody.

It's on days like this, however, that I cling to Jesus' promise in Matthew 11:28:  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  All ye that labour and are heavy laden.  That's me, and that's you.  Jesus is speaking to us, and in this one simple verse, He assures us that if we will come to Him, He will give us rest.  Rest, so that we won't be ill at the world.  Rest, so that we can accomplish His will each day.  Rest, so that we can find peace in this journey that is called life.  Rest, so that we don't strangle our poor little stubborn dogs when it seems their will is stronger than our own.  Rest--what a refreshing thought.  What a privilege!

I don't know about you, but I could sure use some of that rest today.  And tomorrow.  And the next day, I'm sure.  So you know what that means?  It means that every day I need to go to Jesus.  And not just go to Him, but abide with Him all day, every day.  To dwell in His presence.  To rest in the shadow of His wings.  For as long as I'm there, I will have rest.  No anger.  No frustration.  No moodiness.  Only perfect peace and rest.  Oh, yes, that's what I long for.

Now, where did I put that pillow?