Come to Me

 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."- Matt. 11:28-29

For any of us who are parents or grandparent to little kids or older siblings to younger ones we know how life plays out when our toddlers and young kids are tired. They get super cranky, become difficult to manage, sometimes becoming seemingly irreconcilable. What is it that they need in that moment? Rest.

We all are desperate for rest amidst a very restless society. We have incredible demands placed upon us: work demands, spousal demands, parental, relational, and the list goes on. There are blatant demands and pressures we feel because of how we view others living there lives through social media, TV, and the like. There are times when we feel like we are on a constant never-ending chase of to-do lists, with upgrades to be made, and goals to be obtained in my vocational life, spiritual life, relationships, and this doesn't even begin to enter into our need for rest and recreation. In a very restless society, the proverbial hamster ham feels inescapable. 

How do we compensate? If we look to society or culture for help the emphasis is thrown back on yet another task for us to accomplish. We are told to "self-care," "take me-time," "go talk to somebody," "seek counseling or medication to get the rest you need," "focus on yourself," "do things that bring you energy, joy, and rest." In the never ending restlessness in our lives, the world tells us to take it upon ourselves to accomplish the rest we so desperately all need... yet another task added to the endless list.

Jesus puts it in three very simple words, "Come to me." Where are we to look for the rest so evidently needed in all our lives? Certainly not in doing another task to achieve it in our own strength. Jesus says the rest we so desperately desire is found only in Him. He offers a beautiful image of being yoked to Him, that in so doing, we find our rest following His lead, while He bears the load of the yoke, and guides us into His rest that we are so eager to find. And when we stop looking everywhere else for our rest and surrender into His, He promises "rest for your souls."

When our little ones are exhausted they seek rest in the arms of their father. Will you find rest in yours? 

God bless you! Love you all! Praying for you and yours!