“The LORD replied, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest’” (Exodus 33:14 NIV).

I yawned  and groaned as I glanced at my goals and my to-do list. Instead of getting shorter, the lists seemed to be growing—exponentially. The past year had been insanely demanding.

In a regular year I would have worked a job, invested time into writing on evenings and weekends, and farmed my small acreage. Enough to keep a single woman hopping. But this last year I added designing a cottage and barn to build on my farm.

Then I acted as a general contractor, supervising the crews of men, and had the cottage and barn built. My energy meter registered an all-time empty. Worse yet, I felt I hadn’t done justice to my job, writing, or my crop.

Setting the to-do list aside, I picked up my Bible and whined at God.

All I want is to rest. As I read God’s word I had a crazy thought. You heaped this on yourself. Don’t go whining to God.

All my life I’ve been an active person, striving to accomplish more than the year before. But, as I prayed for God to reveal to me what to do this year, I was impressed that I was to put a new resolution on the top of my list for 2020–REST.

The past few weeks have been a struggle as I have endeavored to rest physically, getting enough sleep and taking down time; rest emotionally by stopping my run-away to-do thoughts; and rest spiritually, knowing that God desires to give me rest and it’s up to me to choose to do it.

Lord, help us to remember in this performance-driven world that Your desire is for us to rest. Amen.

Rebecca Ondov:  evenings and on weekends of 2020 Rebecca Ondov of Hamilton, Montana is planning adventures kayaking mountain lakes and horseback-riding Rocky Mountain trails with Sunrise, her golden retriever, trotting by her side. She invites you to connect with her on her Website: RebeccaOndov.com and on her Facebook author page, where nearly every day she posts a quote to inspire you, which she calls a “Morning Pondering.”