Hurrying Down the Lazy River

Last week, we were on a vacation of sorts. We went to Ohio for Dance Nationals, and managed to cram in a couple of days where we didn't have to be anywhere at any particular time. With the crazy pace of life in our home, that was pretty nice. We stayed at a hotel that also had a huge waterpark, and so we spent some time enjoying that along with other area attractions.

The waterpark had lots of slides and rides. By nature, those tend to be fast-paced. Well, when you're on them they do. You spend lots of time standing in line, then you get on the ride, zip down the slide and in a few seconds it's time to do it all over again.

After several slides, Cathy and I decided to take on an attraction that is more our speed: the Lazy River. If you've not been to a waterpark, the Lazy River is basically what it sounds like: a flow of water that goes rather slowly around part of the park. You "ride" it by sitting in an innertube and just float along, wherever the water wants to take you. It's supposed to be relaxing.

Except that this time, it was anything but. Oh, the Lazy River was designed to be relaxing, but many of the people on it were in a hurry. They weren't content to float wherever the water took them. They wanted to control their direction, and they would push others out of the way in order to get there. Several folks liked their arms together, becoming in effect a "battering ram" that hurried along. It all became rather frustrating to those of us who were trying to relax and float along.

I couldn't help but think, though, that those people (and they weren't all kids, many were adults) simply were acting in the Lazy River the same way they probably act in life. Not content to allow the river of life and the Spirit of God to draw us along, we push and hurry and control. Even when we take time off, we're determined to plan every moment, fill it with "the things we can't get done during the rest of the week/year" and wear ourselves out while we're trying to relax.

There's a reason God prescribes a Sabbath, a day of rest: we weren't meant to constantly live on a high intensity, fast-paced, 24/7 schedule. We need times on the Lazy River. Many of us (myself included) are so driven to produce, get somewhere, accomplish something, that the joy of life has disappeared. Perhaps that's why Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). Actually, I like the way Eugene Peterson has translated that same verse in The Message: "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest."

A real rest. Something many in our world have no connection with. That's why we hurry down the "Lazy River." What's your day like? Are you driven—overly so? There's nothing wrong with accomplishment, achievement. We all want a measure of that. But is your drivenness keeping you from all that God has for you? It is causing you to push others out of the way in your hurry to get on to "the next thing"? That's not what Jesus did. He was never in such a hurry that he hurt others in his drivenness. He took time alone to rest, to be with his heavenly Father. He cared for people. And no one accomplished more with his life in the history of the world than he did.

God calls us to rest so that he can renew our soul, strengthen us for the next chapter and help us accomplish what he really wants us to accomplish. So take some time today to float on the Lazy River. Allow God to renew your soul, to help you take a real rest and to lead you forward.

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