Posted on October 12, 2015  by jaredrendell  No comments

Ann Burnett, a professor of communications at North Dakota State University, started noticing 15 years ago how the Christmas letters she received from family and friends were changing. More and more of them began to highlight the pace and accomplishments of another year, instead of sharing “blessings of the season.”

She began asking friends, students, and colleagues for copies of their Christmas letters to check her observations. The collected data confirmed what she read in her own mail: what people want to share now is how busy they are, with the pace of life accelerating every year. “By 2013, eve- rybody’s busy: The preschooler’s busy, retired people are busy,” she says. “Busy equals normal. This is the new norm.” It seems that the busier you are, the more important and significant your life. Most people cannot see an alternative option.

This doesn’t come as a surprise to most of us. The standard reply to the question, “How are you?” is no longer “I’m doing well,” or “I’m fine,” but usually “busy!” Or “so busy!” Or “crazy busy!” We would truly be taken aback by claims to the contrary: “There’s not much happening in my life these days,” or “I’m resting frequently.” Unless the person was very old, or recovering from some affliction, we might question his or her value as a person.

The Scriptures remind us that we were literally engineered from the beginning to live in a regular rhythm of work and rest. God the Creator anticipated the move by us humans to attempt to make ourselves whole in our work, and/or to mistreat ourselves and the neighbor through work. The Lord provided an antidote to our busyness in commandment to “Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy.” This antidote is repeated in the Book of Hebrews: So then, a Sabbath rest still remains for the people of God; for those who enter God’s rest also cease from their labors as God did from his. Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest…. (Hebrews 4:9-11)

How are you doing with living within your God-given limits? Setting aside time for rest? It’s not a question of behaving yourself, but of living fully as a child of God by honoring the heart, mind, body, and soul’s need for rest and replenishment in the gracious presence of our living Lord. This is not intended to be a burdensome exercise. God’s desire is for us to delight in resting together, by letting God be God. Let’s discover together how that happens. JE

Download the full Newsletter: September 2015 Newsletter