What does it mean to rest?

To stare at this picture brings a sense of solace, doesn't it? To actually go to a place like this and sit still as you gaze and meditate on beauty changes you on the inside. It's hard to explain. My brother has spent most summers in the Adirondack Mountains and this summer he is here at home. I heard him down by the lake last night with his friend looking for deer. He told me today over a cup of coffee, "I just need to be outside. I start to feel crazy and angry when I am not outdoors. I grew up in the woods every year and I can't live without it." I sat for a second and thought how cool that was. It was only two summers ago that I first went to Alaska and I remember having the conscious thought that being outside is being more in touch with God. I actually experienced a new level of spiritual connection when I simply threw my head back, felt the breeze, took in the clean air and set my eyes on images that are hardly able to be explained. My soul found water. My heart was at peace. I guess in a way it was because I was tasting and seeing the biggness of God. When I would cast my vision up at mountains so towering or I find myself gazing at water with a deep emerald tone, I was subsequently finding perspective. A new view and a calming wave would come over me.

So I contrast this with loud commentators on Fox News, the rush of trucks on the highway, the sound of video games, sirens, music on the radio and the overall sounds of voices talking over one another and the crazy busyness in my head. The truth is, I have to stop or I will think constant, spinning noise is ok. The T.V., like a constant voice in the background can stay on in some homes all day. We rarely drive in silence. Our phones are constantly alerting us to messages, and life stays so loud. We forget silence. We think noise going all the time is just the way life is. But look back at that picture. Imagine in your mind what it would be like to sit in front of that lake for an hour of total quiet. And pay attention the the thoughts that surface that you have tried to resist for the last five or ten years. We are afraid. And every year we have to work harder to keep them at bay. What does freedom look like? True freedom...what does it look like to actually live and not survive. What does it mean to actually thrive and not just pass time with pointless conversations and shopping? What does it actually mean to be a satisfied person? This summer figure it out. Find a spot. Sit still. Wait on the Lord and He will shower Himself down onto your weary, dry, and hurried soul.