I hope you’re able to rest this weekend. Not just from the job and daily grind, but truly rest and take time to catch up to yourself.
One of my favorite books is one I’ve read every year for almost 20 years. It’s called, Streams in the Desert, written by Lettie Cowman in 1925. It features incredible stories and words of encouragement written by men and women who experienced joy and victory in hard times. I’ve purchased this book for many friends, hoping it encourages and refreshes their hearts as it has mine. Lettie shares this one story that I love and find so extremely relevant for us in our day and age:
“An English traveler lands in Africa, intent on a rapid journey into the jungle.
He charters some local porters to carry his supplies.
After an exhausting day of travel, all on foot, and a fitful night’s sleep, he gets up to continue the journey.
But the porters refuse. Exasperated, he begins to cajole, bribe, plead, but nothing works. They will not move an inch.
Naturally, he asks why.
Answer? They are waiting “for their souls to catch up with their bodies.”
This whirling, rushing life, which so many of us live, does for us what that first march did for those poor jungle tribesmen. The difference is that they knew what they needed to restore life’s balance; too often, we do not.
Take time to slow down.
Farmer Rachael Jones, Locavore Farms