Rest Area…….2 miles

     I recently took a road trip with my family. For the 10 hour drive, we loaded the car with snacks and activities and embarked on a journey to a place we had never been.  The trip was going smoothly. The children are a little older and they can contain their little bodies for more than five minutes.  I read book and watched road signs; and my husband navigated the dull terrain. I looked for interesting things to point out to the children. What else could I do? No one needed to hurry up because we were late to piano lessons. I didn’t need to ask if anyone forgot to water the chickens. No cleaning up the day’s mess. So, I noticed the rest areas, intermittently placed along our path: some are big and some are merely an area to pull off the main highway. The word rest has been on my heart lately, so I conjured up some ideas in my mind on the correlation between rest areas and resting in Jesus, the only true rest for the soul. But it wasn’t until my youngest daughter shouted from the back that I understood the message God had for me in pondering rest areas. You see, prior to leaving home, we had all had a bout with the some intestinal discomfort, which had taken various forms in the children. We were only about 30 minutes from our destination when she announced her need for a bathroom. She is 5 now, so I asked her, “Can you wait 30 minutes?”  She told me precisely what she needed to do in the bathroom, and I’ll spare you the details. But, it was enough for me to frantically grab the map, and wonder if there was anything in the next 30 miles. From the back she chanted, “I can’t wait, I can’t wait.” And I tried to soothe her, “Yes you can, big girl. You can hold it, just a minute.” My husband asked if I needed him to pull over. It was raining. The thought of trying to help this small girl do what she needed to do, road side in the rain, was just more than I was up for. And then, alas, there it stood. The big blue sign, “Rest area… 2 miles”. Praise the Lord! There just in the distance, if she could just hang on, is REST!

     We made it to the rest area. And it was one of those BIG rest areas, with real bathrooms and a picnic area.  And there, in the rain, trying to take a picture by the “Welcome to….” sign, it hit me. Rest is not some illusive thing we have to wait for. In the middle of road side emergencies, and kitchens full of dirty dishes, Jesus stands ready to receive my weary soul. How great is Our God that he doesn’t make us wait 2 miles to quench our thirst, or 2 minutes or 2 years. The weary find rest in the Lord the minute they stop self-reliance and fall into the arms of Jesus. Sometimes, we choose to stop before true rest, thinking we can find it in the immediate. Just as I could have stopped the car before I knew the rest area was so close (and sought rest roadside, in the rain) we often try to find rest where we are. We spend time with friends, try to get more sleep, or indulge in a little pampering. All of these things might feel like the answer in the moment, but they are temporary and only superficially satisfying. If we can look beyond our earthly pleasures and seek rest in the Lord, we will find rest that is not just an opportunity to relax, but a peace and refreshment that can only come from the Lord.  “I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint." Jeremiah 31:25.