Holy Caboose, this is hard! To be "all there." To be fully present and engaged with whoever you are with, wherever you are at.
No. Matter. What.
Regardless of how much sleep you got, or how hard you've worked this week, or how fried your brain feels. Because let's be honest, there will most likely always be something that we could use as an excuse to check out, to un-engage.
But checking out isn't really loving. It's loving on our terms. When we feel energized enough. Or focused enough. Or fill-in-the-blank-here enough.
With that being said, it's also not loving to yourself or others to not have boundaries. Boundaries help us to get enough rest, to have enough margin, and to take care of ourselves. All of which are entirely important for us to be present and engaged.
So how do we be all there?
We can start by finding our rest in God. Psalm 62:1 puts it well: "My soul finds rest in God alone." I'm starting to realize that as a believer, I don't get rest the same way the world does. I can nap or watch a movie or just be- which are all fine things- but if I'm not getting rest in the Lord, I can still feel just as frazzled as before.
In the past month I have heard three separate talks where the speaker references Matthew 11:28-30. THREE talks, guys! I think I should probably pay attention to this. So anywho, Jesus says "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
It's a pretty famous verse about rest. But it's SO good because it comes straight from Jesus' mouth. He invites us to come. He offers rest. Real rest. Not just sit-on-the-couch-and-surf-facebook rest. He wants to teach us. He wants us to find rest for our souls and trade our heavy burdens for His light one.
So that's what I'm embracing today. That's the step I'm taking to become better at being "all there." At living fully alive and present and engaged. To find my rest in God alone. To come to Jesus and to learn what rest for my soul looks like.
