God Took Naps

"By the seventh day, God had finished the work He had been doing. 

So, on the seventh day, He rested from all His work.

Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy."

- Genesis 2:2

    Mondays. Everyone loves Mondays, right? Especially rainy, cold, icy, wet Mondays, right? I know I sure do. Okay...maybe not. Maybe not to all of the aforementioned love of Mondays. I woke up today feeling like I was robbed of hours of sleep. I felt like I just tucked myself in when the alarm went off at 5:00AM this morning. And at 5:45, when I finally rolled out of bed (I hit snooze at least three times...), I literally dragged myself through the motions of getting ready. Of course, walking outside to see my car laced in ice was just another reason for my to go back inside to my nice, warm, comfy bed on this miserable Monday morning. 

    Mondays. On Mondays, I have a series of duties to complete before first block. One of them includes running a student retreat leader meeting. I got the girls ready to go on their tasks for the day and they were chattering away, laughing and enjoying each others' presence. They even had me laughing a bit on this miserable Monday day. Needless to say, they were a bit of sunshine on this cloudy day. One of my other duties is to make sure a Communion Service happens. Students do most of the Communion Service, but I'm there to facilitate the entire thing. It's a chance for the school community to come together in prayer and communion. Of course, as I was sitting there and my eyes were doing their best to stay open, a student read the first reading from Genesis. Suddenly, my heart chuckled. God took naps. 

     I had been thinking on my way to school this morning about how it felt my weekend flew by. I began to think of how for the next few weekends, I will not have any free time. Between running various retreats and service weekends, to spending time at my alma mater for alumnae weekend to literally having way too much to do, I will not be able to sleep in on have a rest day. (Sidenote: we ironically have off for President's Day so maybe that's my day?) Suddenly, I was experiencing so much anxiety. Not a single day of rest. 

     When I was in college, the Sisters used to tease me about my morning routine on most days (aside from when I was student teaching). I would hit the alarm at 6:50, run to the bathroom, brush my teeth, throw some jeans on and run out the door to make it for prayers at 7:10. After Mass, I'd go back to my room, hop on my bed with the intention of doing something productive and eventually fall back asleep. Not all of the Sisters knew this, but when they found out, well...you can imagine the teasing I got. Of course, many of the Sisters knew (only because I had them for class and would openly state my after class plans) that I more times than not took a nap after class. I most definitely took a nap after class if I didn't go back to sleep after Mass. Now, before I go on, the disclaimer is that more often than not, I wouldn't go to bed at night until 12:00. Remember, it's important to get 7-8 hours of sleep a night! 

      To say I miss being able to take naps is an understatement. I sincerely feel like a piece of me is missing when I don't get to take a nap. Okay, maybe I'm being a bit dramatic. But seriously, I do miss taking naps. I also miss having a few Sundays of rest. Some people would most likely answer, "Welcome to the real world, kid." But is this the real world God intended for us, when He rested on the seventh day? I don't think so. 

     If we read Genesis in it's truest form, God created a lot of things, saw that they were good. All of His work He considered good, it was good. God did good work. Because He did good work, on the seventh day He rested from all the good work that He did. So does this mean we should always rest on the seventh day? Well, yes. But this story of creation is two-fold. Not only should we set a day aside for rest but we should also spend the other six days doing good work. 

     Sundays in today's society are no longer reserved for a day of worship. They are set aside for CYO games, catching up on any homework, and of course, working around the house, right? More times than not, I'm running out of church onto the next activity. When will it stop? When will the running around stop? Maybe I should pencil into my calendar "REST" on every Sunday. Resting is important not only for the physical and emotional but for the spiritual, as well. That's the first part of this two-fold call from Genesis. 

     The second part - doing good work all week long. If I feel tired toward the seventh day, I need to ask myself: did I tire myself by doing good work? Was there good in everything that I did? Did I make a difference? Did I preach the Gospel? Did I put the Gospel into action? Did I do enough? I know I am called to preach the gospel (and use words when necessary). I know I am called to do good for the work of the Lord; for His greater honor and glory. I know this is my calling. 

     And so, on my day of rest, I'll pray that my six days of work should be productively good for God's greater glory. And after my six days of good work, I will rest. Because honestly, I don't think God is calling me to be a workaholic. God definitely rested. He took naps. In our all too busy society, we do not rest enough. We do not take the time to breathe; we just keep on running. Many of us do such good work during the week - God gives us a day to rest. So, I think for the next few weeks, I'll pencil in some rest time. Just because, of course, I need to get back in the habit of taking rest time. And naps. 

Caroling Around the Crib

"Servants of the Lord, 

Bless the Lord."

- Daniel 3:85

      It was the night before the last day of student teaching and all throughout the Rotunda could be heard the sounds of songs from The Sound of Music. I was seated next to a beautiful woman of God awaiting the arrival of my three friends and Baby Jesus. Throughout the Rotunda came more friends chattering about in the spirit of Advent and hustling and bustling about the end (of the semester) being near. Wait. What?! Of course, one would be confused if he or she wasn't standing there at that exact moment. So let me give you the background...

      A few weeks before the end of the semester, an email went out to the Senior class asking for submissions of essays of those wishing to carry Baby Jesus on Carol Night. I remembered back to my Freshmen year, while working with Sister Cathy, going into the VP's office to get the new baby Jesus. What?! My exact reaction. I looked at the dear woman and asked how there could be a new baby Jesus and she just laughed. A few minutes later we were unwrapping the box in which was the new baby Jesus statue needed for Carol Night. Having never been to a Carol Night before, I was still confused. But, later that week I found out. I remember looking at the statue of the infant and falling in love the same way a mother first falls in love with her new child. I remember only wanting to hold that little infant statue for ever and ever. A few days later, I witnessed my first Carol Night and as I saw the Seniors carry in the baby, I knew I wanted to do that one day. So, a few weeks before the end of the semester, I handed in my essay. 

       In my essay, I spoke about Mary's yes. I spoke about the symbolism of carrying Jesus during Carol Night meant for me: embodying Mary's yes. I imagined the overwhelming feeling of love in my heart. And as God would have it, I was one of the four who carried the baby in through the rotunda. The funniest part of it was that I was, by far, the shortest carrying the baby. Hey, even the small can do their part. 

       As we were kneeling there, waiting for Steph to take the Child and put Him in the manger, I thought, how perfect. God works in funny ways, you see, because I had written my essay with the intention of desiring to put Jesus in the manger. However, God knew that I needed to CARRY the baby like Mary did. Mary didn't just simply lay the babe in the manger, but rather she carried him for nine months during her pregnancy. Then, she carried him throughout his childhood. Then, she carried him during his first miracle and all his miracles. She carried him as he walked the way to the cross. And finally, when He died she carried him off the cross and to the tomb. Suddenly, all of that hit me as I was kneeling at the foot of the manger. I had Jesus on my shoulders (with the help of three of my friends) and I was carrying him, not exactly like Mary, but in the spirit of how she carried him. 

       I reflected on that through the night. As I stood there around the Christmas tree with my fellow seniors, I thought of not only the nostalgia of this being my last Carol night as an undergraduate, but also of the encapturing beauty of Christmas. I remembered what God had always asked me to be: a servant to the Lord. That night, I realized that Mary, too, had been asked to serve God as a true servant. She carried the King...I got to carry the king. I was overwhelmed with the notion, with this beauty revelation. So often I reflect on how I serve Christ by serving others, but now I was reflecting on how I got to literally serve Him. It reminded me to continue to serve Christ through others. It reminded me that I was meant to be a servant of the Lord.

      This past weekend, I was on retreat and at the end of the retreat, we were given one of the courts of the Lord. I truly believe that God's timing is so perfect as I was given "the Crib," the place where Jesus rests. This was the second part of my Advent gift from God. First it was the realization that I am called the be servant. This weekend He showed me that I am meant to also carry Jesus forever, making the heart the crib. Of course, I believe this will continue on because we know that from the wood of the crib comes the wood of the cross. There is much joy in watching a child asleep in the crib and there is much suffering in watching a man die upon the cross. If I truly accept this call to be servant of the Lord, there will be great joy, such as the joy of Jesus resting in the crib of my heart, but there will always be suffering. I am called to be a servant of the Lord, just as Mary was. I am called to carry the Lord, serve Him and let Him reside, take rest and refuge in my heart. I must prepare my heart to be a resting place for the Lord. Jesus, I say "Yes," like Mary said, "Yes." I give myself to you, sweetheart. Please, take a rest in my heart.