” I will go with you and give you rest.” (Exodus 33:12-14)

Hey Family,

For the past two weeks, I have had a bad cold and cough; I had a chance to join my family in celebrating my nephew who got married recently. It was a beautiful time to congratulate the new couple and to convene with my children, and my siblings. We drove to Maryland despite the tropical storm that we encountered along the way from North Carolina. It was a little bittersweet as my sisters and brother and I reminisced laughing and joking about what our parents would said and how they would have reacted at my younger nephew becoming a new husband. But I loved having my family to enjoy, and my children, now young adults got a moment to spend with their aunts, uncles, and cousins. By the end of the evening I started to feel a little under the weather and decided to call it a night and go back to the hotel. My husband helped me into bed along with some vapor rub that I ended up swabbing all over my throat. The cough that I initially had coming down for the trip had progressed. I donned a mask during the ceremony, but to no avail. By the morning, all I wanted was a cup of tea and choked down a piece of toast. I wasn’t feeling well at all. By the time we headed on the road back to Charlotte, NC., I had been dozing in and out from fatigue. Once pulling into the driveway, all I could think of was making a pot of soup and heading to bed. Arriving to work the next day was a blur; I had lost my voice, and strained to talk. Everyone felt sorry that I had no voice. Thankfully, my assistant took the reins with the classroom and we made it through the day. As the days went on, I knew I should go to the urgent care office to seek some medical attention. I just needed to make it through the week. Finally, by Saturday, the over the counter meds and the home remedies had been ineffective. The nurse practitioner that treated me suggested we do a chest x-ray after she teste me for COVID. As I was waiting for the results, I remembered what my husband said to me that morning, when he saw at how peeked and pale I looked. He said “REST; you need some REST.” Duh, yes I know. But why did the word REST keep sinking in my spirit? My sister texted me that morning “Tanya, you need REST.” I had to admit, I have had a lot to contend with since the school year began; My assistant is still quite new, and leaning on me to teach her several things about our workplans, I have been working hard to be intentional with teaching my little ones behavior skills in class, we are still in the beginning stages of getting new students and I have had physical ailments (tendonitis in both my shoulder and my ankle) that have distracted my sleeping pattern. God gave me this acronym for REST: R ealize- Every- Situation- is- Temporary. God told me this is a temporary situation. The Practioner advised me that I had bronchitis; She would send over some steroids’ to help the inflammation in my chest and relieve the coughing. I just needed to rest.

God can allow affliction to show us when we are unbalanced and in need of rest. I am learning that He can use anyone ( even my loving spouse) to remind us of this. Psalm 119:71-72 ” It is good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold. ” (NIV). The Lord reminds us every day how important it is to rest. ” So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18. (NIV). There is always a timetable when we are in illness, distress, feeling frustration or the hustle and bustle of the world around us. God is telling us to focus on Him and he will take care of things. I was trying to manage everything with a permanent mindset. I forgot God has it covered. How much have you taken on thinking your circumstance is impossible? Are you afraid to put the throttle in His hands to the point that you forget to rest? ” REST in Him…REALIZE EVERY SITUATION is TEMPORARY R_E_S_T!

Be Blessed!