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. ~ Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG)
Are you stressed out by the horrible events that you see on the news? Does the election season already seem long even though we’re just at the beginning? Are you already thinking about all of the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season? Are you frustrated that the year is almost over and your 2015 New Year’s resolutions aren’t complete yet?
If the answer to even one of those questions is yes and maybe even a yes and an amen, you just might be in need of a Thanksgiving retreat. You may need to take at least some of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend to rest for a bit and step away from some of that stress.
Take time to relax with a hot cup of coffee, tea, or hot cocoa. Find a quiet and comfortable spot. Pick up your bible. Read some of it. Then, pray. Most of all, allow God to cover you with peace. His peace that passes all human understanding and makes any stress-filled situation tolerable and sometimes even enjoyable. Take time for gratitude and you may just learn that there are a whole lot of wonderful things all around you that are being drowned out by the not-so-good.
If it’s possible to take a day or two and get away to a completely different place, by all means, go for it! However, Thanksgiving is a time to be with family and friends so that might not be possible and probably not even preferable because people can be some of those wonderful things that are all around you. Take time to enjoy them.
Just because you can’t take a full few days and get away, doesn’t mean that you can’t take time to rest and relax. An hour or two every now and then just might hit the spot. Try not to be caught up in too much of the after Thanksgiving sales. That commotion might stress you out even more. Of course, if you’re someone who enjoys after Thanksgiving shopping, go ahead. In that case, maybe you could get your favorite drink at a local coffee shop, sit down on a bench, and simply relax and enjoy the beginnings of the season. You could even read some of the bible from a bible app on your phone.
You’re probably thinking that your house will be full of people and that won’t be conducive to getting away by yourself even for a few minutes. However, where there’s a will, there’s a way. If you really want to destress, you can find a way. Get up an hour or two before most other people. You can catch up on sleep later. You might even be able to catch a beautiful sunrise. If you can’t fathom waking up early, then stay awake an hour or two after most other people go to bed. The still of the night can be a very peaceful time.
The amount of time that you take isn’t really the issue. The real crux of the matter is that you take a few moments to be still so that you can remember your God. Be still so that you can be thankful. Be still so you can enjoy the people around you and not be as irritated all the time. God is truly above all else. He is above news events. He’s above busyness. He is above stress-filled situations. Just remember that He is above your problems and He is with you in the throes of those problems.
No matter how busy you feel that you are, you can always find some time in which to be still, read your bible, and pray. Susanna Wesley lived in the late 1600s and early 1700s. She had nineteen children, nine of which died as an infant (which was common for the time she lived in). Even so, she still had ten children to look after. And…one of them was handicapped. Another didn’t speak until they were almost six years old. Her husband worked hard but it always seemed like there wasn’t enough money for food and other necessities. Susannah had to raise the children, work in the garden, milk the cow, homeschool the children, clean the house, and I’m sure a million and a half other things.
Susanna could probably legitimately say that she didn’t have time to quiet her mind, be still, and read her bible. But she didn’t take that excuse. She devised a plan to cover her head with her apron. She told her children that when they saw her like that they weren’t to disturb her. I guess she made an exception for emergencies but I’m sure that her kids knew that if they said it was an emergency and it really wasn’t, they’d be in trouble.
Susanna Wesley knew that if she didn’t take some time out to be with her Lord that she would not be able to keep up the rest of her busy schedule. Her time with the Lord put everything else into perspective.
So, you see, you can take at least a few minutes as well during the Thanksgiving weekend. You can even quiet your mind and heart even though hubbub is swirling all around you on the outside.
