Never Never Land

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."



Matthew 11:28-30



Rest for your souls. What exactly does that mean? So many people spend their lives searching for rest and peace in this messy world that we live in, and I'll admit that I've been one of them. My entire life I have loved these verses, probably because for as long as I can remember I've lived a chaotic lifestyle, rarely taking time to actually slow down and just be. This being the case I often asked God to give me rest, even though it was completely my fault that I didn't rest since it was my choice of how I was living my life. I believe that true rest would never happen. No way. Not for me. I like being busy way too much for that. However, things are different in England. Since coming here rest has been one of the greatest things that I have learned.

I don't know how many of you have been to England when it snows, but with it's narrow, cobbled streets the whole country transforms into a magical place where entire cities shut down and become silent. Rest. This past week it has been snowing like crazy all over the UK. Airports closed, roads shut down, people abandoned their cars on the sides of highways because it was too treacherous for them to drive, others were stuck in their homes not leaving for days. So why do I find this simply chaotic and dreadful image so splendid? Because it's in times like these where people are forced to stop. To step back from their crazy lifestyles, and to breathe.

Last week I found rest for my soul. With all of Beverley basically closed, I spent quality time hanging out with friends, sledding with my supervisor's son and dog on the Westwood, and enjoying a few days where I had absolutely nothing to do but be still.

One particular afternoon we were invited to the neighbor's house for tea and scones. Roisin and Lola, two of their children, were absolutely ecstatic that we were visiting, and kept asking me to come and see their room. After being led up two winding flights of stairs we finally made it, and I entered a little girl's paradise. Bursting with light and vibrant colors I stepped into a dreamworld, a place that was safe and full of love. I spent my time with the girls getting glittered poured over my head and spread through my hair in attempt to help me fly to Never Never Land. It was in that moment that I was doused in glitter, shouting out happy thoughts, flapping my arms in preparation to take off to Never Never Land, and running around the room with the girls that I was overcome with sheer joy and peace. Rest for your soul doesn't occur when we become so busy we forget to actually breathe, it comes when we take time to enjoy the small things of life like we did when we were children and embrace the gifts that God has given us, letting His grace shower down on us. So now, as we enter the Christmas season, take a step back with me, enjoy the moments that you've been given, take time to fly to Never Never Land, and take time to rest.

Peace.