Features - Rest

Some folks have hobbies. I nap. I enjoy it. Also, I’m very good at it. Plunk me down someplace comfy, and more likely than not, I’ll be out in no time flat. Doesn’t really matter where. My penchant for conking out in automobiles means my husband does most of the driving. There’s a particular recliner (inherited from my parents) that I dare not sit on during the daytime for fear I’ll lose several hours to dreamy bliss... hours I can’t afford to lose.

Us nappers get a bad rep for being lazy. Fah! Napping is one of God’s greatest gifts, as any insomniac can attest. In dreams we identify and work out our problems. Our bodies are restored, our lives enriched. I’ve come up with some of my best work while drifting in and out of sleep. It’s like a mini-vacation! So shut off the TV, put down your book and nap. Laughter might be the best medicine, but it doesn’t come with a nice, soft blanket and a throw pillow, now does it?

-Lori Strawn

Rest Stop

Today is the day for not doing.
A day for saying no
to the buzz and whir of daily life.
It is a day for savoring minutes.
Thank You for this day of rest.
Let Your peace descend on me,
like twilight falling.
Show me the joy of perfect quietude,
of listening to You in stillness.
Let the world stop
if only for a moment-
so that I might treasure
what is beyond it: You,
who give me blessed work,
but also blessed rest.

-Lori Strawn

"What's your favorite restful activity?"