The Power of Rest

I am writing this entry from my bed as I position myself for God's complete healing from COVID. I preach and teach rest, but like the Apostle Paul, "I do not consider that I have laid hold of it, but...I press on toward the goal." In other words, when it come to rest, I am a work in progress. This bout of COVID has forced me to rest, and reminded me of words I penned eight years ago, words that I offer to each of you:

We live in a society that lifts up exhaustion as a virtue. Many of us are burning the candle at both ends. We live in a culture that values tiredness. We are burning midnight oil. But burning the candle at both ends and burning the midnight oil have one thing in common—burning. And all of this burning ultimately leads to burn out.

This week I learned a beautiful lesson from my baby girl. On Friday evening, she had a fever. This fever went from bad to worse over the course of three days. She was fighting some kind of infection and her little body was so hot. She was burning up. When we took her to the doctor, we learned that there was not much we could do except keep her hydrated and rested. On Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, my baby girl woke up in the morning to eat and for the remainder of the day went through a cycle of short wake times and long naps. On Monday, she went down for what we thought would be a nap at 4:20pm only to wake at 6:20am. The next day she repeated the cycle going to sleep at 5:00pm and waking at 6:30am. Interestingly enough, when she woke on Tuesday, her fever was completely gone. When she woke on Wednesday she was her joyful and lively self. What she taught me was the value and power of sleep and rest in our healing. English playwright, Thomas Dekker, wrote, “Sleep is that golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.”

With that, Family, I'm going back to rest and I bid you sweet and healing rest.

In Christ’s Love,

Pastor Donna Olivia Owusu-Ansah