Resting

Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him…(Psalm 37)

Resting is something that is hard for me to do. My life is busy and full and there is always so much to do. I fill every second and work off of lists. This weekend was full with family here from out of town and many things planned. One evening, I found myself waiting for people to arrive for dinner with the timing a bit uncertain. I had done everything I could to prepare to start dinner, but had some extra time. I was thinking through my options of things I could do for the next few minutes while I waited to hear people were on their way, but I was feeling a bit under the weather and decided maybe it would be alright to sit down and put my feet up for a minute. It was a bit hard for me to do and didn’t feel very productive, but I realized I had done everything I needed to do and it was alright to rest. As I sat down in the cushy chair and closed my eyes for a rare bit of relaxation, the thought occurred to me that I have done everything I can to move our adoption paperwork. There is nothing else I can do. I’ve done all of the preparing I can do for the next step. It is alright to rest. Somehow, I felt that if I stopped and just rested, rather than trying to make someone move or do something else, I was giving up on the process. I realized that perhaps I just need to use this time to rest.

One of the events of the weekend was The Race for the Roses. My husband, sister, her husband, a couple friends and I were signed up for this event. We had worked hard over the past several months to prepare. I had worked my way up to a good pace. However, as race day approached, several things were working against me, including getting sick. On the morning of the race, rather than making a pace, my new goal became to finish the race without getting pneumonia. That meant I needed to make myself go at a slower pace where I could run without being winded. Much to my surprise, it ended up being a much more pleasant run than I have had in the past. When I wasn’t pushing myself for my fastest pace or trying to keep pace with someone else, I was actually able to enjoy the run. There were things to see along the way and I wasn’t in pain. I realized with this adoption, I have been striving and striving to keep up a good pace. Trying to meet artificial goals for when I think things should be done or trying to keep pace with other people has caused great frustration along the way when I should be enjoying the miracle that is unfolding along the way. During the race last weekend, I knew I had a sprint in me when I needed it. When I got caught in a pack of people or there were times when I felt it was time for a short sprint, I had it in me to sprint for a few minutes. When I have an opportunity to move paperwork along in this process, I’m prepared to sprint again. I also knew that I had done everything I needed to do to be able to finish my race. Even though I was running slowly, I knew I didn’t need to worry about finishing the race. I need to remember that with this adoption too. God has brought us this far and showed us what we need to do. I don’t need to worry about whether we will bring him home.

“Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass. (Psalm 37)