Saturday, March 16, 2013

Wilderness Yearning: Saturday in the Fourth Week of Lent

Let your loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us,
     as we have put our trust in you. 
Psalm 33:22


“How was your day?” my husband asks.

“It was good. I took a nap.”

And as I reflect back on the day, this is truly the highlight. It doesn’t seem like much of an accomplishment. I scan the rest of my day looking for insight and vision, any experience that might have profound meaning. Yet my mind and my heart keep returning to the late afternoon, and sunlight streaming through a window, and my decision to choose sleep.

It takes trust to surrender to sleep. And to choose rest. Can I trust in God enough to step away from all that needs to be done, lift my face to the warmth of afternoon sun, and be still? Can I yield my agenda, and welcome God’s care for me? After all, God created rest—and charged us to honor it.


          O God of peace, who has taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved,
          in quietness and in confidence shall be our strength: By the might of you Spirit lift us,
          we pray, to your presence, where we may be still and know that you are God;
          through Jesus Christ our Lord.
          (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 832)


copyright © Anne E. Kitch 2013