For Such A Time as This June 15, 2020 – Karen Haldeman

To the Good Folk of the Palmyra Church of the Brethren,

We apologize for the delay in posting this devotion due to technical difficulties.

Important Notice

If you are not getting expected emails from us, please check you spam or junk email folders.  For reasons we are not yet able to explain, some of our emails are being diverted to these folders for some of our recipients. 

Important Reminder

The deadline for submitting tribute videos or photos for this Sunday’s Father’s Day moment in worship was moved to today - June 15.  Please send submissions to Rachel at rwitkovsky@palmyracob.org.

Joys and Concerns

If you have a joy or concern you would like us to share and pray about, please call, text or email it to me.  If you would like it included in our Sunday Worship sharing and prayer time, please share it with me that week by Friday morning.

Thank You: 

To all who call others to check in on them and share our emails and devotions.

Today’s Devotion:

I am thankful to Karen Haldeman for providing today’s devotion.  If you wish to respond to Karen directly, her email address is kbhaldeman@verizon.net. 

Shalom, Dennis

Scriptures

Matthew 11:28

Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

Genesis 2:3b

…God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.

Thoughts

Long ago, I came across this quotation from Sir John Lubbock: “Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.”  I need frequent reminders, so it is written on a piece of paper and taped above my kitchen sink!

So, on a recent afternoon, I allowed myself a short break from my workday to enjoy the simple pleasure of lying down on the grass and watching the clouds float by.  Noticing their movement, their shape-shifting, how the wispy feathers seem to dissolve, allows my body to rest, my breath to deepen, my muscles to relax.  My focus sharpens, my imagination is sparked, and my mind is fully present.

I’ve noticed several other reminders recently of the importance of rest.  During her message in our June 7 worship service, Becky Ullom Naugle encouraged us to see rest not only as a time to recuperate from activity but as preparation for something yet to come.  Our Jewish friends consider a new day to start at sunset, thereby starting—rather than ending—each day with a good night’s sleep.  And I came across this idea from The Nap Ministry (yes, it’s a real thing!): “Rest is a form of resistance because it disrupts and pushes back against consumerism and white supremacy.”

Now as businesses begin to re-open and more events begin to fill our calendars, let us reflect on the benefits of the rest from hectic routines we’ve had over the last several months.  And let us make choices that continue to allow restfulness in our lives.  For “rest is not idleness.”

Prayer

Creator God, even you rested.  Help us to do the same.