Volume 1 : Come and Rest

*Queue the song Come and Rest by Mission House

There’s a time for all your working
There’s a time to put your hand to the plow
Can you hear it?
Jesus is singing
Come and lay your burdens down

For four months, I was in Mt. Ida working the long and exhausting days of camp. While camp is not easy and not your typical 9-5 job, I am thankful for the ways the Lord never fails in showing up. I had read the Ruthless Elimination of Hurry right before camp in April, thinking it could be cool to know what was ahead yet have a mindset of finding rest in the small moments in the midst of the chaos of each day. At first, I was frustrated because it felt like I could never catch a break. However, towards the middle of the summer, I began to learn to appreciate any moment of slowness that I had.

• Getting to drive the lake bus and escaping for an hour
• Walking across the waterfront at night with cooler weather and clear skies
• The moments sitting in Debbie's office and just catching up
• Sitting at the waterfront and watching people blob
• Walking around the special event 
• Driving to and from work from Country Lane
• Walking up the back hill to the staff parking lot with Yellerton
• Sitting at the coffee shop on a day off
• Cooking in Belbas
• Drinking a cup of coffee every morning while listening to Podcast
• Rolling Tshirts for the 5 up party
• Waiting in the ICU and reading a whole book
• Listening to all 10 minutes of the song There Is More
• Sitting on a porch in the burbs watching the first rain in 23 days
• Painting a tool box for Blake in the Crafts Center
• Dance party with the Internationals
• Watching the Session Videos
• The Firework shows at Red, White & Blue
• Singing Christmas Carols in July
• Listening to the All Girls Lifeline talks
• Standing in the waterfront during the Magic Skits

I am quick to think that camp is not restful, but that's not completely true. Being at camp in the summer provides a different kind of rest - there is something unique about being so immersed in camp and in the bubble. From April to August, I am able to focus on all things camp. I establish a routine and am thankful to get to work alongside some amazing people. It is a place where the Lord is so evidently present and continuously providing opportunities for us to be a part of something so much bigger than ourselves.

After the summer, I felt mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted. When Dave asked what I was doing during the break, he responded "You want to spend the week with the same people you have spent all summer with?" And after thinking about that question, I think that those are exactly the people I wanted to be with. The people that would understand why I was tired and would share my desire to take it slow and rest. We left Mt. Ida and headed to Blue Ridge, GA to a cabin of no kids and cooler temperatures. 

It ended up being exactly what I needed:

• Time with people I love with no agenda
• Putting away phone
• Sleeping in each morning 
• Cooking breakfast 
• Reading books on the porch 
• Sitting in a horse pasture and journaling to process the summer
• White water rafting - no power lines, buildings, phones or anything. Just you and God's beautiful creation. And a lot of laughter as we surfed the rapids and swam in the river
• Playing ping pong
• Galloping around the horse pasture (no horse involved)
• Watching movies
• Hiking through the woods with walking sticks
• Riding horses up and down a mountain
• Sitting around a fire cooking hotdogs and roasting marshmallows 
• Swinging on porch swing during thunderstorm

At first, it was hard to rest - after working so hard for four months, I felt restless when there were moments of down time. But as soon as I found the routine of resting, I felt my load feel lighter. Sometimes all you need is an escape week to the mountains!

Four months of work. 

One week of rest. 

And now back to work...

There's a time for working.

There's a time for resting.

But in both, the work and the rest, may I come and lay my burdens down.