The power of rest

I read this tonight during a period of rest and it floored me with how powerful rest is and how it also captured some of the realizations I had from experiencing rest tonight.

---

“There is something deeply spiritual about honoring the limitations of our existence as human beings—physical an spiritual creatures in a world of time and space. There is something about establishing rhythms that are gracious and accepting of our human limits that enables us to be gracious and accepting with others. There is an energy that comes from being rested that is different from the energy that comes from being driven. There is a wisdom that comes from silent listening that is different from what comes from talking things to death. There is right action that comes from waiting on God that is utterly different from reactivity. There is a renewed engagement in battle that is different from slogging through life with unremitting and stoic resolve. All of these rhythms create space for God, fostering an ability to bring something truer to the world than all of our doing. All of these rhythms put us in touch with something more real in ourselves and others than what we are able to produce. We touch our very being in God.

Surely that is what the people around us need most.”

:: Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership, Ruth Haley Barton