Growing up I always treasured the month of August.  I remember the days of getting up earlier and staying up later in hopes to get the most out of the final month of summer vacation.  Each day was special and precious to me as I hoped to make lasting memories and tried to ward off the eventual school year.  Each August as a kid, I would spend one day at an amusement park riding large roller coasters.  We now enter into the month of August.  It's time to get on the roller coaster.

As an adult, August is the calm before the storm.  It is the journey to the top of the large, first hill of a roller coaster with the click-click-click-click of the chain.  At the top of the hill we let everything go and the fall is in full motion.  Kids go back to school.  Fall sports and clubs start again after the summer breather.  Newly appointed college freshmen leave home for the first time to explore life on their own.  Church programs and ministries get running again.  The roller coaster of life is a fun and wild ride full of ups and downs, twists and turns...but, right now we are still going up the hill with a click-click-click-click.

This is a time of preparation.  We all have our to-do lists of things that need to get done before Sept. 1st, but what about our souls?  Is your soul prepared for the fall season?  Just as the ride up to the highest roller coaster hill is a rest before the jarring twists and turns, can August be a time of rest for you?  Or maybe a better question: where does rest fit in for you everyday?  Our souls need consistent times of rest whether daily or weekly to allow Jesus to minister to us, to refuel us.  I believe we can all relate to the pleasant guidance of the shepherd in Psalm 23 that leads the flock to calm meadows and quiet waters.  When this happens our souls are restored.  The rest refreshes, reprioritizes, and restores our energy and strength.  At some point inside our hearts we all long for this rest.

Jesus invites us to come and rest with him.  "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."(Matthew 11:28-30.)

Come to Jesus.  Find rest in Him.  Take time each day and place His yoke upon you.  After all, I think Jesus is the best riding companion for a roller coaster ride!

Learn more about St. John's Christian Church online: www.stjohnsarchbold.org