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Written by Nilaurys Garcia, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Canada
Has it happened to you that after a vacation you need to rest? In other words, you need another vacation to rest from the holidays, it may be that you want to spend all day lying in bed reading a book, binge watching your favorite series, sunbathing on the beach, walking in the park or whatever activity that you like the most.
I can imagine several people laughing and commenting that the days off are to do the things you can't do while you work or are in your daily routine, and why do I know this? Because my mind also works like that. But a day after a small mental breakdown that led me to faint on the subway on the way to work, both my family and my boss decided to have an intervention, and very kindly forced me to take a few days off. I wish this story ended here, and I would love to say that after the break I learned to relax, connect with God and live in a peaceful state, but no. Six months later it happened again. After medical studies and results that only indicated one thing, stress. This intervention was no longer so kind, but this time I did learn.
There was an internal struggle within me in living these two experiences, after being oversaturated with good things like multiple Bible studies, ladies and youth meetings, children's classes, social activities and more, I completely drained myself. There was nothing left to give. Some will think, “but that's the life of the servant and it's part of the task to do all that, plus how are you going to get tired if all those activities nourish and transform you, help you connect more with God and make you grow?” All that is true, but if we exceed our limits, there are consequences.
What led me to understand that rest or stepping aside was necessary was to see the example of Jesus, in Luke 6:12, when after several miracles, days of teaching, and having to deal with the Scribes and Pharisees He retreated all night to pray “and He spent the night praying to God.” It is not the first and only time we see Him doing this, He also did it after He had walked on water, had fed a crowd and before being betrayed. In Luke 5:16 the Bibles states that "Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”
Since I understood that it was necessary to dedicate moments, days, or seasons in this action of recharging, I understood that I had much more to give, but it was only possible if I made these conscious pauses to return to the Source that would allow me to breathe deeply and talk to the Source, beyond the daily interaction. I have learned from Jesus to retreat and breathe for a few moments. I learned to identify the symptoms that indicate that I need to pause and regain strength, and I spend conscious time doing so.
Depending on your tastes and personality, retreating can look like sitting in the park while you study your devotional, taking a couple of hours to journal, taking the long way to work while praying out loud if you're driving, or saying no to a church study or activity, but it should be a conscious decision. You can also invite a friend if you wish. In my case it works best when I'm alone and I pray out loud, so if you ever see me on the street speaking to myself, you already know what I'm doing. You don't need to go to the middle of the forest for a week to be alone with God and your thoughts, but if that's your way, great! I just recommend that you don't wait to collapse to retreat, breathe, and recharge. Remember Jesus spent time resting and recharging directly from the Source.
#IronRoseSister #HIStories #retreat #recharge #breathe #rest #guestwriter #blog
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Written by Pamella Sevillano, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in João Pessoa, Brazil.
Have you ever thought about the love and care a mother has for her children?
If you’re a mother, you know what I’m talking about, and if you’re not, you can imagine it.
When we are expecting, we think about every detail for their arrival. Where their room is going to be, where they will sleep, what clothes they’re going to wear, and lots of other things.
When I start thinking about my experience as a mother, and the preparation for my kids' arrivals, I can imagine how God prepared everything for Jesus’ arrival here on earth. How He chose the way His Son would come to the world, how He chose Mary and Joseph as his parents, in what cultural and political context Jesus would come, and how He prepared just everything for His birth. God is a caring Father and we can see this clearly in Jesus’ earthly life.
Just like some of us mothers are always making sure our kids have the best opportunities for growth, always wondering if they are okay, if they are in good company, if they are eating well enough to be healthy. We can also see that as Jesus grew, God provided new paths and relationships that helped Him evolve in all phases of life.
Nothing compares to the love of God, but something similar is the love of a mother for her children.
Isaiah 49:15 says:
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!”
And the intense love God has for Jesus is the same love He has for us as His children.
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” (1 John 3:1)
Just as God loves us intensely and we love our children intensely, we also want our children to love us and the Lord. We want them to seek us in moments of happiness and sadness, of relief and distress, of peace and pain…the same way Jesus looked for the Father.
There are several examples of this in the Bible:
- After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. (Matt. 14:23a)
- Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. (Mark 1:35)
And even in one of the most well-known times, when he went alone to the Mount of Olives and prayed:
- “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)
We long to embrace our kids, care for them and love them. Jesus knew the power of God’s embrace, and He always made sure to seek it. The Lord’s embrace is transformative. Most of the time, life is still going to be hard (Jesus Himself still had to go through the cross), but the love and protection we receive when we submit ourselves to Him is healing, like a mother’s hug.
May we, as sons and daughters of God, never forget His love, care and protection. And know that He loves us unconditionally, as He loved Jesus His Son.
#IronRoseSister #HIStories #loveofGod #Godsembrace #loveoftheFather #guestwritter #blog