Sitting With Papa

A couple of weeks ago Vicki and I had the pleasure of driving down to Sioux Center to watch our granddaughter’s soccer game. After 15 minutes of practicing dribbling, passing, and taking shots on goal, Rilyn’s Gold Team was ready to take the field. The kindergartners play on a much smaller field, maybe 25 yards by 40 yards or so and with six players from each team on the field at a time.

I’m not sure if you’ve ever watched kindergarten soccer, but basically it’s a herd of 12 little boys and girls all chasing the ball at the same time in hopes of getting an opportunity to kick the ball towards the opponents goal. They run and kick and run until someone gets kicked or knocked over at which time the whistle is blown signaling a break in the action to rub the owie or to wipe the tears.

After about 20 minutes of some pretty intense pursuit of kicking that little white and black ball, it was time for substitutions, and so Rilyn got a chance to rest. Then, after about 10 minutes of sitting on the sidelines, I began to sense that Rilyn wanted to get back into the game, so I got up from my comfy lawn chair next to Vicki and I walked over to where she was sitting and I sat down beside her. Apparently feeling a little embarrassed that I would come sit by her and her other teammate, she said, “Grandpa, you can’t come and sit by me.” Although, after I affirmed her efforts on the field, I think she was glad I came.

I had only sat with her for a minute or so when it was time to substitute again, and so fully rested and hydrated; off she went to engage the little traveling herd with renewed passion. Again she played her little heart out, once nearly scoring a goal, only this time after about 15 minutes she was ready for more rest and water. And much to my surprise, rather than going to sit by her other teammate, she came over to the side line and crawled onto my lap. My heart was filled with happiness as I thought about how her reasoning had gone from, you can’t sit by me to I want to come sit on your lap.

As I reflected on our experience of watching Rilyn’s game as well as attending the Hiller Lectureship event that Cory referred to in last week’s Not So With You article, I was reminded again of the importance of rest. And not only rest because I’m physically unable to keep going at a frantic pace, but unhurried rest because I just love sitting with Papa.

Jesus knew the importance of rest.  Mark records Jesus saying to his disciples, “Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place and rest a while” Mark 6:31 KJV.  Dallas Willard would make a play on those words by saying, “If you don’t come apart and rest for a while, without rest, after a while you will come apart.”

When thinking about the rhythms of work and rest, I also love the words of Jesus found in Matthew 11:28-30, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

May it not be so with you and me that we would resist our need for rest, but rather that we would find great joy in “getting away” with Jesus.

Grace to you, and shalom, Mike Altena

 

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