You Will Find Rest

Lectio Divina Out Loud: Erika Dix learns where her rest comes from during a time of stress and isolation.

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves." (Matthew 11:29)

When I started to write about this Scripture passage, I felt as though I may have written about it before. It is a familiar verse, especially for anyone who is experiencing a lot of stress, since Jesus is talking about finding rest. What I found interesting about it this time was the word “learn,” which really stood out for me as I am experiencing a time of transition and stress.

Learn from Me

It has been a couple of months into my new job, and of course I am trying to do everything myself. And by everything, I mean all the things I used to do before having a full-time job — on top of a full-time job. There may be a few moms out there who have been in this position as well, and by a few, I am guessing there are many. It is hard to give up the old routine and familiarity of taking care of home and kids. The stress of it all has been weighing heavily, and that could be why this verse came to mind. What Jesus is saying does feel like a way to release the stress by giving it all to Him, but this time, there was something more for me to “learn.”

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Humble of Heart

Recently, I caught a very bad bug that kept me isolated from everyone. From work, from my family, and even from God. It made me realize two things. One, that I had been doing too much, and had not given myself time to rest. And two, that I had been isolating myself from God because I had been doing too much. I had been trying to get everything done and did not allow time for exercise, prayer or rest. I kept thinking if I could just get everything put away, cleaned up, or organized, I would feel more at peace. That did not come to pass, and instead I had a full stop, which was quite a humbling experience.

With the verse from Saint Matthew's Gospel, I heard the word “learn” as though Jesus were saying it directly to me. I am currently learning a new way of life with my new job, so why am I trying to fit it within my old life? Jesus wants me to take His yoke of learning, which involves a humble heart. He has been trying to teach me — gently and humbly — and I have been a sullen teenager trying to do it all by myself, even defying Him by not resting on Sundays, one of the top ten Commandments.

Find Rest

The biggest lesson I learned from this experience was to not do everything myself. I know it sounds easy to say, but I have let it become ingrained in me, almost a way of life. It is not just about leaning on Jesus to help; it is learning His meek and humble way and taking that upon myself. Learning to let go and know that all of it will eventually get done ... it just may not be right away. Learning that observing Sundays as a play, pray, serve day as we had done before is important to help my soul. And finally, learning that I do not do it all and get it all done to find peace, I do it all for Jesus to find rest.

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