Rest As a Kind of Prayer

It’s getting to be cabin fever time after a long stretch of cold, windy, snowy weather. When every particle of our body longs for spring, it takes discipline to honor the lessons and gifts of winter. As Christine Valters Paintner says in her poem How to Pray:

Remind your body how it says yes
to blossom, fruit, release, and rest,
each its own kind of prayer.

Spring, summer, and autumn are active seasons of planting, growing, and harvesting. Winter, on the other hand, calls us to contemplation, rest, and quietude. It invites us to the prayer of incubation — that fallowness required for seeds and dreams to germinate and grow.

Most of us feel something is amiss if we are not busy. We judge the quality of our life by how much we accomplish. We feel guilty if we take naps, daydream, or read a novel. The only time we slow down is when illness forces us to do so. And yet, given a fair chance, our body, mind and spirit say “yes” to fewer hours of daylight, to rest, to silence.

In the busyness of spring, which is right around the corner, we likely will long for a little bit of time to ourselves. Why not savor it now, when winter offers it to us with snowy breath, whistling winds, and the promise of long, dark nights?

Falling More In Love

As we get older, it’s easy to settle into fixed ideas of who God is, how the world works, and how our loved ones should relate to us. With our many years of life experience, we know what to expect, right?

Benedictines are called to a different perspective. As Christine Valters Paintner says, “St. Benedict described conversion as a practice of lifelong transformation. We are never done falling more in love with God, with the world, and with one another. As long as we are alive, there is always more love to pour out.”

What if today God were to surprise you with an opportunity to fulfill a lifelong desire, or you suddenly become aware of Jesus’ compassionate presence as you deeply grieve the death of a friend? Wouldn’t that give you new reasons to fall more in love with God?

What if today you read a story of a herd of elephants that traveled 12 hours to reach the home of a former caretaker who had died, in order to pay their respects? Wouldn’t that lead you to fall more in love with the marvels of our world?

What if today a friend accompanied you to a doctor’s appointment so you wouldn’t be alone when you received important test results? Wouldn’t that lead you to fall more in love with him or her?

Today our world is greatly in need of people who are willing pour out love to those who are wounded, scapegoated, or disregarded. May our practice of conversion lead us to be in their number because we have learned that the well of love available to us is inexhaustible.