Unless the Lord Builds A House

I used to struggle with one word more than any other word in the English language: rest. See, by nature, I am a "go-getter," a "doer" who like to make things happen. Last year, my husband was on military orders for a year and a half which caused him to be away from our family 5 days a week. During that time, I homeschooled 3 of my kids, went to school full-time, led a ministry of over 70 women at my church, finished writing my first book and let's see what else . . . chauffeured my very active children all around town to various sporting events and practices, volunteered at church and launched a business.

Whew! Even writing about it makes me nauseous now. How did I ever get all that accomplished?! Well, let me tell you, I am no Super Woman. I survived off of an average of 5 hours of sleep and, unfortunately, was very irritable most of the time (just ask my kids!). Living on the go-go-go is no way to live. Carrying the weight of the family on my shoulders caused me to be overwhelmed and out of fuel. I would run into the presence of God "real quick," get what I needed and rush back out. I wasn't resting, for sure.

As I look back over the last year and a half, I am so thankful for God's mercies that kept me sane! And I am so grateful now that He is teaching me how to rest in Him. Psalm 127:1 says, "Unless the Lord builds a house, the workers labor in vain (their work is wasted)." If your foundation is shaky, the whole house is subject to collapse.

I've had to go through my schedule and "weed out" some good activities that were not contributing to the greater goal of my life. I've had to say "no" to things I've really wanted to say "yes" to. I've had to rearrange my schedule so that my God comes first, my family second and then everything else has to fall in line. I will not compromise my priorities to try to get ahead.

This all leads me to wonder, "Do we really trust God with our lives?" Think about it. If you are running to and fro, chasing dreams and trying to make things happen on your own, what does it all profit anyway? I am learning how to rest--how to give God my plans while filtering them through His master plan. Remember, "unless the Lord builds a house . . ."

So, friend, REST! And watch for my next post which will contrast passive rest versus active rest.

So long for now!