Restfulness is not laziness...

Sometimes in today's world, we walk a fine line... or think we may. We say we know of the value of a day of rest, but we fear that we are teetering towards laziness if we take more than a few hours "off". Most parents find there is no time to spare or waste, and we as parents of children and adults with special needs find it particularly true. Our experience is that the world has been rewarding hard work and focus while penalizing laziness (or sloth) for a very long time. We may fear that our restfulness is to be treated as slothfulness, and find ourselves juggling responsible work with the need of rest.

I ran across this from Dr. James D. Hegedus, and find it helps put things into perspective...

"Sloth is not restfulness…There is a difference between laziness and restfulness. In the world in which we live restfulness or what the Bible calls “sabbath” is a very healthy necessity. Sloth is not lingering long over lunch with a friend, or strolling aimlessly through the woods with the person we love, or spending a day doing nothing because the demands of your job are about to do you in, or moving through a weekend without the fret of hurry, purpose, or chore, or spending an hour watching a sunset or listening to the sounds of nature, or spending whatever time alone in silence to quiet your spirit and get back in tune with God."

So let's try to remember...

Sloth is laziness...
restfulness is not.

My prayer today is that you find time to spend in rest and silence... to quiet your spirit and get back in tune with God.

"For he that is entered into his rest,
he also hath ceased
from his own works,
as God [did] from his."

Hbr 4:10

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