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As shepherds we work to care for the flock as well as the the sheep pen. There comes a time when we need to rest and feel satisfied with the spritiual and physical nourishment that has been given to us by God. There is a diffeence between taking a vacation and resting in God. most times during a vacatoin you finsih more tired then when you started. However in resting in God you will finish more energized then when you started, because it is through spiritual renewal that we are brought to a place of wholeness.

This reflection forced me to admit that rest is not exactly an activity that I am either attentive enough to, or very good at; and maybe that’s the problem. Perhaps the difficulty I am having is that I think of rest as something I do, and I need to make a shift in my thinking about rest to be something I am open to allowing God to do within me.
Of course, I still need to exercise the willingness to step out of the workload, and surrender time and space in my heart to God, but once I have been open to that returning, returning to God, I need to remember that I can simply rest in God and God will provide me with the restoration and renewal I so desperately need.
I am reminded that even Jesus made it a frequent habit to go off by himself. Yes, he was praying in this time, but it seems that in his prayer life he also surrendered to and rested in God. Maybe that is how he was continually able to respond to the demands, feed the multitudes, heal the sick, teach his disciples, stand up to the religious leaders and minister to all who came his way, and all without ever once having a meltdown. And, if that is the model that Jesus lived in his own life, maybe I need to take this reflection to heart and follow Jesus’ example more closely in my own willingness to surrender to and rest in God.