Potential is adventurous.

Her morning is set. Predictable. She will rise, take a shower and brush only her bangs and let her natural curl do the rest. She will make herself a dark roast cup of coffee. She is by no means a coffee snob, but she knows what roasts she like and will not touch it decaffeinated or less than black. She in fact is more picky about the cup it goes in. It must be an owl, a color that calls out to her in a moment or be covered in meaningful quotes from literature. Today she selected one with a quote form the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland. Her cup must be part of her life story for the day and the concept of impossible things is exactly what she desired. She will pair the coffee with half a grapefruit and put the other half in a sealed fridge back for the next morning.She will put it on a blue plate and sprinkle some sugar on it and leave it by the porch swing for a moment. She goes out in her pajamas and she waters her garden before the sun gets too intense and settles on the porch swing and rests with her fruit and coffee. If you can tell something about a person by their favorite time of day this would be the time to judge her by. No matter if she spent all night turning with her bouts of depression or just passed out form staying up too late she is always at peace in this first moment of the day.  No matter what follows this moment, nothing is wrong with the world.

Once this moment has gone on as long as it can she will look at  her phone and see what she has been missing in the world. She will get up and take her cup and plate to the dishwasher and ponder what to do with the rest of her day if her phone did not present a dilemma. Today it did not. She could dive into a book or catch up on Arrow or Firefly. Those were her current vices. Her peace would not be broken til she caved and put on clothes for work or going out. Out, was stressful. She was an extrovert, but she preferred it if people came to her. The whole world in her backyard would be her fantasy. She would spend a few moments before most likely giving in to catching up on Arrow or peering out her windows and wondering where a nice place for a bird house would be for later. She remembered seeing hummingbirds at the neighbors and thought about getting something for them. Peace.

Today she was off from work and looking forward to her parents coming into town in the evening for dinner. Two of her housemates were quiet in their room and two were at work. The house was still. She hoped the two in their rooms were as calm as her. Today should be a good one she thought. Excitement filled her with the possibilities of all she could do. When both roommates up they went through some more boxes and killed a spider. Now they had to vote on what to make for lunch. Yes, this was going to be a perfect day. Not even another spider in the laundry room could tarnish it.

Now, if her phone rang it could take her day in any way however unlikely. It could be a kidnapped friend, her uncle needing her to come help catch a horse, the president needing her for an alien invasion, or far more likely… her boss changing her schedule again. it didn’t. Besides one missed text from her mom and two from her boyfriend her phone had not bothered her in any way. Instead she looked at her porch and imagined an easel over newspapers and some acrylic paint along the sill for her to start a day. A bit out of her budget, but nice to think about. In the end she decided now was a good time to check Facebook and read some articles online for an hour. She had to pick a restaurant to eat with her parents that night anyways. Sometimes she would spend the day in a lust for excrement. Last Thursday she strolled into a tattoo shop and got a piercing on a near whim, one night at two in the morning her and her roommate went around collecting furniture left on the curb. Today she had no desires for going out. Just staying in place and watching Netflix.

She had only recently learned how to rest. It took her a lot of practice. But, she had come to terms with doing nothing. Even began to see how it helped her in the rest of her life. There was not guilty feeling for not going out and saving the world today. She would save the world. She had no doubts, but she did have patience. She wondered if Batman, Green Arrow, Captain America, Spiderman, Robin or any other super hero ever just took me time. If so, they never showed it. Maybe they should. She knew Raven from Teen Titans sometimes spent hours in her room just sitting and being calm. She decided she would make a good Azarath Princess and puckered her lips thinking of hero stories she could write. She and Raven would get along. They both liked depressing cafes, herbal tea, reading, scary movies and crafts.  She wondered if you could convert half-demons to Christianity. She didn’t see why not. She finnally actually got around to looking up restaurants in her area and decided to get dressed soon.

Yes, resting is good. It stirs up wonder. Wonder is necessary for adventure. She didn’t feel a pang of guilt. She was learning a new habit. A good one. Sometime learning looks like a mistake, but she was getting the hang of it. No accusations of being lazy would come her way. Peace is tool of the solider. She now knew that.

Rest.

Resting. The word boils over and leaves me feeling anxious. I think of sitting still, being bored, fiddling my fingers and struggling to get comfortable. Sit still? What will I accomplish in holding still? Nothing. Nothing at all. I can sleep when I am dead. Yet when I put in the search words “rest” and “Bible” I am overwhelmed with results.

Resting is Biblical, even demanded. Some of the verses my favorite search engine found for me were:

Psalms 37:7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!
Mark 6:31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
Matthew 11:28-29 
“…Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” 

And those are just a few. 

So why can’t I rest. Why does the idea send ice up my spine?

Simple. I am out of practice. I am a college student with many friends, family, church and school obligations. I love all of them but they keep me busy. So here are some rules I am trying to give myself to help me be a restful person.

1. Have a place to Rest.
Location, location, location. Much like proverbs warns that locating yourself with certain people and places make it more likely for you to sin having a place you practice resting in. Mine is a big round chair, a side table and a good distance from something that can play my favorite worship and metal CD’s. Yours can be whatever. Just have a place.

2. Have a Time

You have a place? You need to actually have a time. This is my worst area. I am one of those people that say “yes” to everything even when it is unwise. Any time I set aside for something is quickly scheduled over. This is because I do not value it. I hate the saying I have no time. I prefer the more honest I do not value this enough to spend time on it. This is how I feel about rest. I do not value it enough to make time for it. But setting aside some 15-60 minutes every day in stone and prioritizing that over any alternatives.

3. Do it. 
No really, do it. Just close your cell phone close this blog. Do it. Do it. Do it.

4. Remember who time belongs to.
The reason we struggle with time is because we think of it is ours. When we realize that we are not guaranteed tomorrow it is a lot easier to make time for God.  Then we can say no to things that God can take care of and recharge.

5. Partner up. 

Now if you are actually the type of person or have friends that have consistent quiet time have them mentor (is that the word I want?) you or have you join them for their time. Because then you have to face the “I thought you were joining me for devotion or hangout time?”

6. Forgive Yourself. 

If you mess up or sleep through it, replan and give yourself a better chance for success.  Beating yourself up and telling yourself you can’t do it only sets you (or us) for adopting an attitude that leads to even less succesful rest time.

7. Rest Well 

When you rest (devotions or just from work) rest well. Don’t obsess over the things you are resting from. Do not for a single moment rely on your own strength to rest. If you spent all day calculating work with your hands. If you spent all day working with your hands take up Sudoku.

Seven is the number of completion so I will rest this blog here. I hope you learn to rest with me. Our God rested on the last day because He was setting an example not because He needed to.