Is Rest History?

I was walking in the airport one day for a flight, and I noticed a group of individuals huddled around, all looking down. At first glance, I thought they were a group of individuals huddled in prayer. But as I got closer, I realized that they were actually looking down at their phones attached to the charging post. They were probably not even a group with a common connection other than the cell phone charging station to which they were all tethered. 

Just like in our travels, with all the walking, rushing, and waiting, our journey through life calls our weary souls to find spiritual recharging stations and rest.

Recharge and renew with prayer and meditation. Meditation, which is closely related to the root word for medicine, is healing.  A growing body of scientific research suggests that meditation leads to various positive outcomes for people with depression, anxiety, stress, and various other afflictions. Neuroscience has found that the practice of meditation helps improve attention and sensory processing. Being mindful of God’s unconditional love and constant outpouring of grace is healing.

Saint John of the Cross wrote: “In the inner stillness where meditation leads, the spirit secretly anoints the soul and heals our deepest wounds.” In our journey through life, afflicted or not, we’re all in need of God’s healing. We need to get plugged in to the heart of Christ and draw from it a fresh charge of spiritual energy.

It was our Lord, Jesus, the ultimate healer, who said: “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

Despite the increasingly louder call of busy-ness in our journeys today, rest beckons. Rest, not just for our body and mind, but for our soul. Rest, especially this Sunday, the day of rest, give your soul a rest. Renew, recharge, refresh, and reconnect with God's graciousness.