Rest Easy

I love my bed. Every night I breathe a sigh of thanks as I sink into my new pillow top mattress and I snuggle in just a little bit deeper each morning before I get up. I thought about my bed when I was reading some old journal entries a few days ago and came across a quote that I had jotted down from a book. The book was written in 1942 by a lady missionary, Hannah Whittal Smith. In, "The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life" she writes;
"But suppose you had doubted the strength and stability of your bed, and had dreaded each moment to find it giving away beneath you and landing you on the floor; could you have rested then? Would not every muscle have been strained in a fruitless effort to hold yourself up, and would not the weariness have been greater than if you had not gone to bed at all? Let this analogy teach you what it means to rest in the Lord. Let your souls lie down upon the couch of His sweet will, as your bodies lie down in their beds at night. Relax every strain, and lay off every burden. Let yourself go in a perfect abandonment of ease and comfort, sure that, since He holds you up, you are perfectly safe. Your part is simply to rest. His part is to sustain you, and He cannot fail."
Sometimes I am so guilty of not fully trusting God, of straining in fear, just waiting for God to let me down. I was glad of the little reminder from an insightful pen from the past. God knows that perfect peace and rest comes when we put our faith and trust in Him.
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight(NIV)."
Proverbs 3:5-6

Life's A Beach

We loved taking our little family to the beach this summer. The boys found endless amusement throwing stones in the water, digging holes and running from the waves. Daddy enjoyed the cool water while Mama soaked up the scenery and tried to stop littlest boy from swallowing too much sand (I have probably removed a whole beach from his diaper this summer). On one of our recent excursions I was helping little sand-eater walk in the water. He's really too small to stand very deep so I was helping him walk close to the shore where the waves were...ankle deep..before I let him go.
The minute I let go of his hand I was reminded of a verse from 1 Corinthians 10:13.
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

Just as I would never have let go of my tiny son in the midst of big waves that were too much for him, God would never put me in the midst of something that He knows I couldn't handle. As I watched my boy toddle off safely I thanked God for another of His reminders. Remember, His depth of love for you will never leave you in a place that is too deep. He always has a way out for you. Be encouraged.