Commentary by Rev. Michael VandenBerg

Last week my wife and I were able to get away, spend time with family and just enjoy the supposedly slower pace of summer.

I have to say, my summers never seem slower, so when I get the time to slow them down, surround myself with the people I love and just rest, it is always a welcomed time.

I suspect most of us live the same kind of frantic, fast-paced lives, always looking to get ahead, achieve as much as possible and make our family lives better for the future.

So, how is that working for you?

The pace at which life flies by seems almost to be the new and necessary normal, except with it we find ourselves suffering more health problems, more stress, more distance from the very people we tell ourselves we are doing all this for and ultimately more relational breakage.

Life seems out of control, or at the very least out of our control. So what is the answer?

In Matthew 11 of the New Testament, Jesus told those who followed Him, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and loaded down with burdens, and I will give you rest.” He went on to say that the burdens we carry now may seem normal, but he can lighten your load, give you complete rest and let you enjoy the fruits of Godly living. Now wouldn’t that be a joyful change? Imagine waking in the morning, not already running behind, but eagerly anticipating the new experiences, joys and encounters that God has in store for you that day.

Imagine life filled with the most valuable aspects of life, family, friends, satisfaction and even contentment in who you are and what you are becoming. Contrary to Mick Jagger, you can get satisfaction — if you follow God’s plan for your life.

We ought not live for those weeks of vacation, but rather turn every week and every day into a new adventure with God. We ought to stop justifying the ends by the means that we take and start understanding it is the journey itself that is the reward. God is not another demand on our time, but rather the solution to our busyness. He is not an uncaring taskmaster but rather a compassionate father that loves us often more than we love ourselves.

He told us to be sure to take time away and intimately connect with those in your life that give it meaning. He tells us to relish the times of quiet so we don’t succumb to the noise inside our heads and he tells us that to live in love will produce a life of balance, peace and be restful. Want to find our more on how to do this? Visit a Church this Sunday and ask.