Homemade soup and scratch-made Focaccia bread. Simple deli meat sandwiches on soft white bread topped with crisp lettuce and garden-fresh tomatoes. Volunteer football win. Afternoon nap. Hoodie. No make-up or hair dryer hum. A favorite historical fiction novel, the ending I know. Pumpkin scented lotion. Old friends, inside jokes and new memories of outside adventures.

Rest.

No grades to enter. No papers to grade. No prompts to respond to. No reading responses to write. Tomorrow’s assignment was turned in three days ago. Two days ago I packed my bag. Yesterday, working all day to prep and plan, finish and complete – so much work – done.

Rest.

Then we drove as night fell. With each passing mile, freedom felt more and more real. Christian Chicken eaten on the road as we followed Siri’s voice to a new destination. Darkness shrouding scenery and masking the beauty of Creation. Falling into a firm mattressed bed with oversized pillows, sleep comes fast.

Rest.

As silent as light, morning reveals the majestic beauty of the surrounding Smoky Mountains. Sunlight filters through the changing-color leaves and reflects off a small pound we had unknowingly passed the night before as we traversed up the rise to our weekend home away from home. God shows His might and whispers in my ear, “And I love YOU so.”

Rest.

An everything bagel fried egg and cheese sandwich fueled a trip down the mountain for a salted Carmel frappé and quick shopping trip. Pictures taken by two giant, hay-bale, black bears and we spend the day playing Nertz and Tapple and Rummikube.

Rest.

This past week I literally used caffeine and relied on prayer to get all the things accomplished. I saw God graciously answer those prayers as my middle school students quieted and wrote their narrative essays. More prayers were answered as the “to-do” lists both at home and at work shrunk. I confessed to my husband, “I’m exhausted,” and he folded laundry, packed the suitcases and loaded the car. I have known it was needed, but there, at home there are still so many things that need to be done.

Rest.

I purposefully left all those need-to-be-graded narratives in a basket on the dining room table. The family planner remains on my writing desk in the kitchen with a small stack of papers with due dates and appointments to be added. Intentionally, I will not work on my licensure portfolio because the laptop with the required videos has been forsaken for this weekend.

Rest.

All the pressures, expectations, responsibilities and requirements have seemed to grow in weight, in height and depth as the last too-many days turned to too-many weeks have passed slowly by. Yet, God has revealed Himself in scripture and song. Sundays, gathering with believers, have become an invaluable, sustaining fuel. He has remained steadfast and close by teaching me lessons through all the crazy, by reminding me of His provincial faithfulness in the busy and by showing me He is more than trustworthy enough to lay my burdens at His feet. He gives it to me.

Rest.

So, I praise Him – for the journey of getting me here, for the family and friends to share it with, for the sights and sounds and smells and tastes. Ah, and He does taste good. It is all good because He is good. He always gives me what I need when I need it. It may not be what I want or when I want it, but He is the Maker and Giver of all good gifts- and this weekend is a good, good gift.

Rest.