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the REST is the week #159
It’s the rest of the week and I have an important reminder:
The sun does not actually set.
When day slips into night, what’s actually happening, of course, is that the spot we are sitting on is turning with the rest of Earth, degree by degree, away from the sun. The sun doesn't set:
We turn away from the sun.
We are not motionless fixtures, watching things around us come and go. Rather, there is something stationary, fixed, and consistent out there that holds Earth, holds us, in place.
So when our planet turns away from the sun, we turn towards the still darkness of night for a time of rest. We keep turning so that without changing direction, we turn back to the sun.
Without changing directions, we turn back to the sun.
While we sleep, with no effort of our own, we are turning back to the light, and morning comes again, right on time. We can rest knowing that this is something that we can count on, regardless of anything we do or do not do.
And with each new turning towards the light comes another fresh opportunity to start again. We are not behind. Each morning is a new beginning.
There is a beautiful statement about God's enduring love tucked in a book of poems lamenting destruction and devastation and speaking to the promise that it would not always be like that.
"The faithful love of the Lord never ends. His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness. His mercies begin afresh each morning." (Lamentation 3:22-23)
Whether we are coming or going, feeling like everything is bright and cheerful or feeling the "dark night of the soul," we can rest knowing that God is as constant and unchanging as the sun we see in the morning.
He will continue to pull us towards himself and the warmth of his love. And he promises that it will not always be like this.
Here’s to rest and may yours be sweet
Alicia