Rest in the Presence

In The Garden Within by Anita Phillips, there is a chapter called: Healing the Broken Heart that dives into topics such as sadness, how sadness impacts the body, loneliness, different forms of grief, and the chapter ends with ways to heal. Phillips (2023) refers to the healing portion of this chapter, Walking in the Garden. All that said, I would like to focus on the subsection of that chapter called Rest in the Presence.

 Imagining God’s breath filling your lungs, I would like to breathe in through your nose, 1-2-3-4, and then, as if blowing up a balloon, exhale through your mouth slowly for 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8. Do this at least three times as your awareness of the Creator’s presence becomes more and more palpable. When you are ready, talk to your Creator about what you need. And if that’s too hard, you don’t have to say anything. Because our God knows what we need before we ask. You can just stand there in His presence with your need laying on the surface of your heart (Phillips, 2023, p. 156).

 This small passage from the book reminds me of the reading of John 4 and the discussion questions from this past Sunday. The portion of John we read was about Jesus talking to the Samaritan woman at the well, and the questions were about; rest, wants and asking God for them, deeper requests to God, resisting Jesus, and in closing, a question about how beautiful it is how Jesus patiently pursues her/us, even when it is hard to trust his love. Seeing a few parallels, the one I would like to point out and focus on is the need to be still, to pause. Sometimes we get caught up with our doubts and worries, along with the rush of this fast-paced world that seems to value being busy over needed rest, and as a result, we lose sight of that crucial life-giving pause and do not prioritize its integration into our daily lives.

 When we imagine ourselves in the presence of God, we often feel like we have to start talking. Before you do, just be with God and breathe. Remember, fertile soil breathes. Faith is the air we breathe. Let the Creator revive your heart with the breath of life. Let God resuscitate you (Phillips, 2023, p. 156).

 Fertile soil breathes. When we pause and spend time with God, we allow ourselves to be poured into. Let God resuscitate you.

My group on Sunday focused on question one from the discussion, and I will pose it here again: what has tiredness and rest looked like in your life lately? And I’ll add a follow up: would you like the tiredness and rest to be different to what it is now? Is there possibility and capacity for change? What might that look like? Bring your wants and requests to God.

Phillips, A. (2023). The garden within: Where the war with your emotions ends & your most powerful life begins. Nelson Books.

-Denia Bradshaw