Rest by Mandy Baker Johnson

I heard a fascinating fact on Duck Quacks Don't Echo at the weekend: we lose height during the day.

Apparently, because of gravity, the space in our joints becomes compressed during the day as we move about doing everyday activities. At night when we rest, our bodies expand back to their full height.

I guess that's the reason I have to change the position of the rear-view mirror each morning....

So there's a good reason for rest. It allows our bodies space to breathe.

This last weekend was all about rest. I needed space to breathe without coughing. I put myself on strict voice rest on Saturday to give my throat a chance to recover. I should have been at an ACW committee meeting in Northampton but I suspected they wouldn't have welcomed me coughing and spluttering all over them so I stayed at home with my knitting and box set of Downton Abbey.

Knowing I was free from all responsibilities was restful. I snuggled into my pink fleecy blanket and relaxed.

Having a free weekend to do nothing but rest has strengthened me for the week ahead. And the cough is much better even if my voice remains a bit hit and miss. Actually, the huskiness sounds rather sexy....

Yesterday I enjoyed time with God. Normally I love to worship Him exuberantly, singing and twirling around the living room. How do you worship God with no voice and little energy? Well, I simply sat and enjoyed Him, quietly revelling in who He is and the fact that He went to such extraordinary lengths to be friends with me.

I'd felt like I'd neglected Him recently with busyness of life, distractions, and having a virus. But yesterday, we spent time together and it felt as though I had expanded back to who I was meant to be.

Resting is good for the body. Resting in God is vital for the soul.

Mandy Baker Johnson is a self-employed medical secretary who enjoys blogging and is working on an autobiographical book about deliverance from darkness and being healed from cerebellar ataxia and ME/chronic fatigue. She is developing a heart for the poor and enjoys volunteering with a Christian charity working with women in the sex industry.