HOLY NAP

Vie, 11 marzo 2022139 Vistas

«Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, ‘Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?’ » (Mark 4:38, NLT).

Many women, especially moms, cannot rest without feeling guilty. Too many things need to get done! Taking a few minutes to sit and read a good book or to take a nap is considered a luxury. They are rewards they can give themselves only after they have done all their chores. I really do not know where we get all those notions, when Jesus gave us such a fantastic example of how to take a nap. I am sure you know the story. Jesus and His disciples got on a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee. A fierce storm suddenly broke out, but Jesus was napping. The disciples started to bail water out, while he snored! Terrified, they finally woke Him up and Jesus calmed the storm. «Then he asked them, ‘Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ » (Mark 4:40, NLT).

Jesus sleeps in the midst of reigning chaos because He knows that the idea of waiting until it is all done is absolutely unreal. «Too often, I’m like everyone else in the boat,» writes Shala Graham in her article «The Holy Work of Napping.» «l visibly see the storm of my to-do list raging around me, and so I think napping is irresponsible or unloving to others in my life who need me. In those moments, I think Jesus would ask me the same thing: ‘Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?’ »

Resting forces us to believe that God is the One who sustains our homes, and not we ourselves. Taking a nap forces us to accept our energy is limited and to relinquish our perfectionist (totally unrealistic) expectations. Resting when we need to is an act of humility and obedience.

Dear Lord, since the guilt I feel when I need to rest is false,
I relinquish it. I am not omnipotent, and when I ignore
my body when it asks me to rest, I am making a serious mistake.
Today I make the commitment to rest when I need to,
even when my chores are not all done. I will ignore the fear
that tells me everything will come tumbling down if I stop,
and I will trust in You. No matter how great the storm is,
there is no reason to fear with You in my boat.