Rest has begun to play an important role in life at the Drake house. For a week or so now, Wendy has been on bed rest due to some complications with the pregnancy. Our friends and church family have been amazing about feeding us and helping out with the girls. Our elders came over last night and anointed Wendy with oil and prayed over her. It has been a neat thing to watch.
But it's been tough, too. Man was not made to be a mother, and Tinsley has a hard time understanding that. I really like my laundry to be clean and my house to be straightened up, and I prefer to have a minimal amount of work in those areas. And when Tinsley comes into our room at 3:00 in the morning, my preference would be that she go to her mom's side of the bed and have Wendy put her back to bed. But that's part of the job for me right now, too.
This past weekend, I began reading a book called "Apprenticeship with Jesus" by Gary Moon. It is a 30-day experience toward, well, apprenticing with Jesus. (I love it when a title captures what a book is about.) Anyway, I was quite surprised by how it began. The first day's exercise was to block out 8 hours every night for a month to get adequate rest. I don't know about you, but I rarely associate good sleep with spiritual health. But upon further reflection, it DOES make sense. I am a much more patient and loving father when I am well-rested. I do a better job as a husband when I have rest and margin.
And while I have actually done a crappy job of getting those two nights of 8-hour sleep, just the awareness of my rhythms has led to two very fulfilling and peaceful days. My hope is that a month of such rest and awareness will help me to become more like Jesus. Let me know if you notice any difference.
