Time To Breathe

Time To Breathe

by youth pastor Christina Fischer

Each of these devotional blogs entries is meant to be read on your own or if you have family or friends you live with, to be read together aloud. A suggestion  is to do this after you have dinner around the table together.  At the conclusion, please spend time in personal reflection or in sharing with one another your answers to the questions at the end. Be sure to conclude with prayer.

Read Matthew 11:28

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 NIV)

As many of you know, I tend to have a very full calendar. If you have seen it, it can be a bit overwhelming. It is how I organize my life and keep track of everything that needs done. It is a bit chaotic at times, but it helps me get everything done that I need to get done. Last year, I first heard the song “Breathe” by Jonny Diaz on the radio, which sums up my normal schedule and is a great reminder to just breathe and be regardless of the chaos around you.

The craziest thing has happened in the past 2 weeks as my schedule went from 90 miles an hour to almost a standstill. The things that took all my time and attention are being cancelled left and right, probably a lot like all of your schedules, and it seems like my calendar has been cleared very effectively. As we are getting settled in to quarantine, we have noticed more time to take a walk, cook meals together, eat as a family, work on projects together, and resting and reflecting—all have now become the norms of daily life. How sweet this time has become for us!

While I realize that this is a temporary stay upon the outer demands on our family, I wonder how much of this can remain the same when the schedule starts to get back to normal. Can we make a new normal? Is there a way we can remember the joy in the time when we were able to just be?

In the scripture today, Jesus is reminding us that we need to come to Him when we are weary and burdened and He will give us rest. I am thankful for this promise from Him and this timely reminder for all of us. There may be chaos surrounding us, but we do not need to get caught up in it. We need to allow Jesus to be our rest. Can you picture that? Resting and being at the Savior’s feet? What beautiful a thought and place we each long to go.

I’m praying for each of you to find time to rest amidst the chaos. I’m praying that you will enjoy the time and place in which God has placed you and the people He has placed you with. Our families are a joy, and this time is something to cherish amidst the uncertainty surrounding our daily lives. Peace to each of you.

Song link: Breathe – by Jonny Diaz

Reflect with someone else or on your own:

  1. What part of this verse(s) speaks to you the most?
  2. What does your family time look like during this quarantine? Are you cherishing the time, or just getting through each day?
  3. What changes to your daily schedule are good changes that you would like to keep? How could you plan for that after this is over?
  4. Like me, is there something in your schedule that could be given up to allow for my time to rest and being a family?
  5. Make sure to pray together about using this time to rest and be.