Bored and Rest-less?

I’ve had a longstanding beef with the concept of boredom. I see it as a character deficiency at best and the sin of discontent at worst.

Today in chapel we were pointed to Matthew 11: 28-30. “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 burden is light.” This brought to mind the quote of Augustine’s approximated here: “Our souls are restless till they rest in Thee.”

We are marked by our restlessness (literally “without rest”). We constantly look for something to “rest” in whether it be resolute inactivity or our industrious accomplishments or any variety of pleasurable stimuli – the sorts of things that the Teacher of Ecclesiastes pursued. If we aren’t satisfied with whatever it is, we claim boredom and look elsewhere for rest.

Isaiah 55:1-2 parallels Jesus call in Matthew 11. “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.”

If I am resting in Christ – completely satisfied with my portion in God – then there is no place in my life for restlessness, discontent, or boredom! Or put another way: if I am restless, discontent, or bored, Jesus calls me to come and rest and be satisfied abundantly in Him.

Ten minutes or less

I'm being reminded again that any foundation other than God is bound to fail. Emotions of the past week have been tumultuous. Even three snow days and a federal holiday (making for a six day weekend from school!) were insufficient to lighten the tensions of keeping house, doing homework, hosting my brother and a friend-in-transition, feeling helpless with the effects of pregnancy, wanting to start readying the house for the baby, knowing our reliance on God was weak, struggling with complaining and laziness and fear and indecision, wanting to be thankful...

Yesterday and today, my own stress lightened. I don't know why. Katlyn smiled (even when her body ached). God is growing us. We pray lots; others pray for us, too. In the midst of a stressful morning I tried to sing what I know is true:

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
All other ground is sinking sand.

All glory, laud, and honor to my Redeemer King!

Writing

There is never an ideal time to write. I was reminded of this again while reading Edith Schaeffer's Hidden Art with my wife. How often does one have all the good intentions of sitting down to write a letter to someone (or email) and yet never actually do it? How often have I hoped to write a blog post catching up or recording the adventures of the past year? Anyway - the recommendation is to write. Just write - even if it doesn't come out profoundly or even correctly. That is hard for me and my pride. This advice doesn't negate editing or re-writing or even discarding - but insists that writing actually happen. So - I've got five minutes left of my self-appointed writing interval to say something more.

I'm enjoying Sundays. Katlyn and I are trying to take seriously God's command to keep the Sabbath - one of the ten that seems to slip through the cracks. There are times our obedience is inconvenient: not buying gas, not grabbing forgotten things at the store, not eating out for a nice date. But those are the negatives. The positives far outweigh them: no homework! Relaxing time for reading, crocheting, journaling, writing, discussing the sermons, praying, getting to know one another better, talking about the future - our hopes and goals...

My time is up. Write on!