Read His Words Before Ours!
Hebrews 4:1-13
Genesis 2:1-3
Matthew 11:28-30 
I never imagined that the morning of March 9th would be the last one I would have in my house until April 26th. I was twenty-seven weeks and five days pregnant with my daughter, Maizie, when my water broke at work. I called my doctor who quickly told me I needed to drop everything and head to the hospital right away. I asked her, “So, do I go to emergency room or something?” and she graciously replied, “No, you’ll head to labor and delivery, I will meet you there.”
My mind started spinning and tears stung my eyes.
I prayed and asked God to give me peace.
The last time I was in the hospital was for my miscarriage and I could feel the panic and anxiety run over me. We had made it pretty far in this pregnancy, but I still had a trimester left. I repeated over and over, “Please God, save her. I can’t lose another one. I’ll do anything.”
Hours and tests later it was discovered that I had a high leak causing the amniotic fluid to come out depending upon how Maizie was positioned. The doctors decided to treat me as if my water had officially broken, which meant I was now admitted to the hospital until she was born. They were hoping I would make it until 34 weeks gestation, but knew she could come at any time, so my orders were to rest and take care of us.
In case you missed it,
I was going to spend roughly forty-five days
in the hospital until she was born
and just rest.
I didn’t know the definition of such a word.
Up until this point in my life I had things scheduled to a T, with little to no rest in between. I had scheduled a ‘baby moon’ with good friends of ours, and other than that, it was go-hard or go-home. I always loved the idea of resting, but thought sitting and doing nothing was so counterproductive.
How does one get things done while ‘resting’?!
But it was in the stillness of my hospital room where Jesus met me the most during this time and taught me the importance of taking a Sabbath day (or in my case, a six week Sabbath).
Elohim – The Creator.
God has many names with many different meanings, but the first name we are introduced to in the Bible is Elohim, which means God the Creator. God didn’t have to create the world in just six days, but He did, and on the seventh He made it sacred with a purpose in mind. The previous six days, He had completed all that He set out to do, allowing Him the time to create rest on the seventh day. As believers, we are allowed that seventh day rest, just as we are allowed the heavens and earth, light and dark, sea and land, animals and people. Let us not stop at the sixth day of creation and forget one of the most important days He designed. It’s called Sabbath rest because it’s already completed.
In Ephesians 2:10 it states,
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus,
so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”
He already planned our days,
each and every single one of them,
so as we follow His path, wherever it might lead,
we are able to rest knowing we are following His plan.
The weeks I spent in the hospital, I had many visitors. My family, friends, and church community rushed to my side and spent countless hours in the hospital room with me. I remember so vividly the hours spent together as being so life bringing.
As if restoring something deep inside of me.
I slept when I needed too, prayed consistently, journaled to remember, colored to help my imagination, and spoke with the staff. The hospital nurses and techs would always comment about how they loved being in my room, and how they felt something was so different in there, and I thank the Lord for His spirit shining in what can be a dark place.
He gave me time to rest to restore my spirit and share His name with everyone I encountered!
While it wasn’t the way I ever expected to spend the last part of my pregnancy, I look back at that time as some of the best days of my life, resting in Him, knowing that He had pre-planned all of those days and I was just along for the ride.
Besides, I needed rest before I headed home with my preemie anyway!
Whatever your life looks like, you need rest!
Come away as His beloved, allow Him to bring you life, restore you, and renew your purpose. Who knows, He may even use your obedience to rest as a means to further His kingdom!
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