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©2014 Susan Cady, susancady.com
Restless Wandering
Do you ever feel stuck? In a rut? Or that you’re wandering, searching for that thing to fill the restlessness? Perhaps life is in such constant change that you are finding it hard to keep up. I have to admit, I like change at times (this is one reason my house is in a constant state of redecorating). I don’t like to live with too much routine, but I’m also a creature of habit. I do like adventure, creating and discovering new and exciting things, but I also need a sense of calm and stability to my life. This zig-zag can leave a girl feeling dizzy and plain worn out! …continue reading
Get OUT of the Expectation Trap!
Expectations! We all have them. When our expectations collide with our reality, it is what I call “expectality”. Sometimes it can be good—better than we expected—but very often it’s an explosion in our lives. Our expectations can become a trap imprisoning us—robbing our joy and peace, and ruining relationships. How do we get out of this expectation trap? Some suggest we should just not have any expectations and then we won’t be disappointed. I think that tends to be a bit fatalistic and an attitude that can stunt growth in our life. God has purpose even the hard places of our lives, even in our disappointed longings and expectations. God has wired us with a sense of expectancy.
I’d like to share some practical steps we can take to GET OUT of the “expectation trap” so our expectations are not ruling our lives, robbing us of joy and ruining our relationships.
We can choose how we will respond to our unfulfilled and disappointed longings!…continue reading
Stressed!?! Find Rest
We are a society that has become weary for lack of rest. We can relate to the psalmist who says, “I am weary with my sighing” (Ps 6:6). Weary can mean faint, having nothing more to give, ready to collapse. Do these words describe you? Are you weary emotionally, physically or spiritually?
Too often our “to do” lists are longer than the hours in our day. If you are like me, much of the time, I create my own stress. I say “yes” when I should say “no” to a task or request. I fail to take time to pause and just be in the Lord’s presence; instead I fill my days and hours and the result is exhausting. Many times I create stress by taking on tomorrow’s worries today. I let my mind wander and worry. But God created rest. God desires we find rest.
Matthew 11:28-30 speaks to us about learning to find rest in the midst of our stress:
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.
Come – deute – an imperative — come hither! come here! come! come now! —from a root word meaning urging and calling, here! come!
Rest – anapauo – to cause or permit one to cease from movement or labor in order to recover and collect his strength; to give rest, to refresh; to keep quiet, of calm and patient expectation, an intermission.
Jesus beckons us to come to him to find rest. I love how the original word for “come” is so emphatic. It’s like he is saying, NOW! Not later, not if you feel like it, not when you’ve exhausted all other possibilities, but NOW! The rest He desires to give us is a pause to recover our strength, a quiet and calming of our souls. The great thing about learning to rest in Christ is that it can be done in the midst of whatever we have going on in our day.