Rest for His BeLoved

The benefits of true rest are amazing!!!

Maybe I’m feeling a bit nostalgic because I’m that much closer to 40!  Oh Yeah…today is my birthday…by the way…

About this time last year, I realized the importance of resurrecting the relationships that matter, however, though I’ve reconnected with family and friends lately, the one person I’ve still neglected is myself.

I guess I never really took a good look at my relationship with myself until now.

As I peered in the mirror this morning, it’s hard to believe that a good night’s sleep was something of a distant memory not long ago. I’d been lying awake most nights since the passing of my mother. If I got three hours of sleep, it was a luxury.

Before, I assumed the issue could be remedied easily.  So I tried melatonin, lavender, ice cream, and yes people even Benadryl, but I still couldn’t seem to get it together.

Something changed the other night though.  

Maybe is was the music!  I love to sing and music has always moved me to another place altogether, but as I tuned in for a late night with India Arie I felt weightless.  Maybe it was when I decided to resurrect myself and become the type of person I expect to receive.  Perhaps it was just pure exhaustion that forced me to slow down for a moment of silence. But whatever it was, I know now that my rest has everything to do with my willingness to be loved.

I’m sure the spark that ignited a determination to destroy the source of my insomnia beyond eliminating caffeine and too much exercise was a simple message from a friend that made my day.

Hello sleepless beauty, are you okay?

While the message came from a person I consider special, knowing that my Father in heaven orchestrates the steps I take, I didn’t blush because of who was used to deliver it.  Years ago, I might have been so naive to do so, but this time I smiled because only God knew what I needed in that moment.  He’d been the only one that heard my prayer the night prior because my words were barely above a whisper…

No I wasn’t begging God to allow someone to “tell me I’m beautiful” or “give me a compliment.”  Rather, I simply asked God to remind me of how He sees me.  I asked that He allow me to be as beautiful on the outside as He had been transforming me on the inside.  I asked that He allow His light to shine through me.

It’s  not the first time the Lord sent a kind word my way so I know this was no exception. However, nestled in the response was still something more than I anticipated receiving.  The simplicity of “Are you okay?” wasn’t because the God of the universe didn’t know whether I was okay or not.

Instead, He wanted me to know that it was okay for me to rest because I was His beloved.

©2015 Nadia Davis. All Rights Reserved.