Rest Robbers

By Shari Johnson –

Rest does not come easy for me. Sleep comes easy, rest; not so much. I fall asleep somewhere between pulling back the covers and laying my head down. Seriously! It is a rarity that sleep evades me, but I seldom rest.

Not long after I fall asleep my eyes will jolt open thinking, did I pay the electric bill? Why is that person so mean? What would possess a person to do that? I love blue shoes. My thoughts are random and chaotic, just like me. At 4:30 a.m. I wake up and start the day anew.

I am trying my best to learn to rest.

Psalms 37:1 says “Fret not thyself because of evildoers.”

For me this is the king of rest robbers. I don’t understand the mindset of anyone who can with total disregard hurt another individual. *Apple personalities have to be on constant guard of this. Because of their “matter of fact” nature they are quick to use cutting words to get their point across.

My husband is a flaming red apple! Stupidity is a crime in his world and as we all know the world is full of stupidity. But the difference between he and I is, stupidity jolts me awake, he on the other hand sleeps like a baby. After all, he is right (in his world). My husband is not an evildoer! He is passionate about things getting done right, but his technique sometimes lacks finesse.

I’m not telling you anything I’ve not told him. For 30 years I’ve loved him, for 30 years he’s driven me crazy! I constantly worry about people being unhappy. David, he figures they probably had it coming.

Psalm 37:4 “Delight thyself also in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”

The desires of my heart rob my rest. Why go to bed when there’s a perfectly good mandolin or fiddle that needs a little TLC, a book that needs read, a site that needs visited, a piece of cake that needs some lovin’. God is so good to me! But the desires of my heart can sometimes lead me astray.

There are times that I should be tending to spiritual matters or home matters, and I’m tending to the desires of my heart. Then, when things get backed up I get overwhelmed and my eyes jolt open in the wee hours of the morning thinking… did I finish the laundry, put supper away, study my lesson. In this respect, I’m in serious need of discipline!

Psalm 37:7 “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him:”

Patience is not a character trait of a “*Mango.” It’s a “Lime and Banana” thing. For every current project I have going on, I have two in the waiting. I just finished the teen retreat, and the ladies retreat is next on the agenda. Before it starts I’ll have something else brewing. It frustrates my *Lime friend Glo, she’d rather I rest. It also frustrates me when I can’t seem to accomplish it all!

Psalm 37:40 “And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them because they trust in him.”

Therein lays my rest. When I get frustrated with people, a lack of time, a lack of self discipline or just in the madness of it all, I know that the Lord is my deliverer. He’ll take care of whatever causes my eyes to JOLT open. So that I can just as quickly fall back to sleep, resting in the arms of salvation. I hope you have rest today!

*Apples, Mangoes, Limes and Banana’s are personality traits from the studies of Lynne Schinella and Ripe Learning ® and are used in my workshop to help with harmony in life. Call or write today for more information!

Shari Johnson is “The Jesus Chick” writer/speaker and Born again child of God, saved by grace and serving Christ. Dedicated to His Service through all she does. Wife to David, Momma to Tiffani and Whitney, Nona to Luke, Noah, Nicolis and Paityn. Find her here, friend her on Facebook or read her thoughts at http://www.thejesuschick.com/.