Emily is Smiling: The Best Kind of Rest

Monday, July 7, 2014

The Best Kind of Rest

When I woke this morning, the sun was just barely finding its way into the Puerto Rican sky, but we were already docked firmly at the pier. My vacation was in its final hours.

Sleepy and lagging, I shoved my last few articles of clothing into a bag and made my way to the Windjammer for a final meal on the ship. The electricity actually shut off halfway through the meal. This caused quite the stir, and I honestly would have been somewhat concerned if we had not been knotted so securely to dry land.

There are a few reasons why I am ready to go home:
1.) I miss my Naana and Pa.
2.) I miss my family's three dogs.
3.) I miss having my own bedroom.
4.) I miss a comfortable pillow and bed.
5.) I miss using a shower that is wider than my office chair.

There are more reasons why I wish I could stay in the Caribbean for a few days longer, but do I really need to list those?

The flight to Texas was four hours long and spent sleeping, studying calculus, and re-reading The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning. Last night when I finished Blue Like Jazz and was raving about its impact on my heart, Amy told me she didn't believe books could change lives. She said books could change people's perceptions, but they can't change a life.

I disagree. After reading Blue Like Jazz, I hope to embrace God's charity and open-ended grace with outstretched arms and a broken, smiling heart. After reading The Ragamuffin Gospel, I hope to daily look more and more like Mary Magdalene did when she washed Christ's feet with her hair and less like the Pharisees when they proclaimed their good deeds from the street corners.

After reading books like The Ragamuffin Gospel and Blue Like Jazz, my life will never be quite the same again.

My Naana and Pa picked my family up from the airport after a long day of navigating through terminals and attempting to find comfortable napping positions in cramped airplane seats. Our dogs were squirming and crying and dancing with sheer excitement as soon as we stepped through the front door of the house.

It rained four inches while we were gone. While this might not seem like much, most of Texas is in severe drought, and the land around my home is looking greener now than it has in three years.

Now I'm sitting cross-legged on my comfortable bed in my very own bedroom with five piles of laundry strewn around me. Memories from the cruise dinner last night already seem like they happened a week ago. On Monday I'll start back to work (and buckle down on that calculus class).

Rest is beautiful. It was created by God. It is essential for restoration and rejuvenation. The last ten days have been such good rest.