蜜芽传媒

A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with The Reverend Canon Grace Thomas.

Good morning.

August, in the cathedral where I work, is a quiet month work-wise. We make a point of having no meetings, and many go on holiday during this time.

I really appreciate the opportunity to take things a little slower, to rest, to read, to spend more time with family and friends. Whenever I do this, I recognise the healing, nourishing effect it has on me.

In the book of Genesis, when humans are created, the very next thing God does is create a day of rest for everyone. Humanity鈥檚 life on earth begins with rest. Indeed, the creation poem in Genesis repeats the phrase - and then there was evening, and there was morning, the day. In Jewish tradition therefore, a day begins at sunset. The first part of the day, is dedicated to rest. I love this idea. All too often, I begin the day frantically getting ready for work, and the day ends with me being exhausted, ready to drop. How lovely would it be to begin the day in rest and continue the day having rested.

Research has definitively shown that rest improves mental and physical health, it enhances cognitive function, helps reduce stress, and boosts the immune system. But for me, what I find most compelling, is the holiness of rest. God writes it into our very existence, from the very beginning

And so this morning and throughout August, I pray for good, restorative times of relaxation. That I may learn to accept, that being busy all the time is not what God intended for me. And that, instead, I may find time, to simply stop - to lean back into the arms of God, and rest.

Amen.