Bench Resting
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“You know when I sit down and when I get up. You know my thoughts before I think them.” Psalm 139:2
As I looked around my condo, I realized I have several benches – six to be exact. I like benches. They seem so simple and inviting to just sit. They are usually wood so they can accent a room and go with the décor. Benches are easy to move. Plus, you can sit close to someone or farther away. It is your choice. They are easy to sit on, and you can slide across them. Benches provide a place to rest and are found in malls, along the street, and especially in parks. They are a place to rest but not stay and get comfortable.
I walked recently at a park and on the bench part way on the trail sat two older gentlemen leaning on their canes just chatting. They commented on their need to catch their breath before finishing their walk. At my hometown county fair, benches are everywhere with most of them having a name plate – given in honor or memory of someone special. When my mom was living and went to the fair, she always sat on a bench near one of the main buildings and watched people. Throughout the week, everyone in the family and her friends stopped and rested on the bench with her. The bench provided a way for others to share a conversation with her.
A bench is a wonderful description of how God wants us to sit and rest with Him. A bench says, “Do not be in a hurry. Just sit and rest a while and take in what is all around you.” My cousin’s dog, Harper, never passes a bench without jumping up on it and sitting down to rest even when my cousin wants to keep walking. Harper is not moving until she is finished with bench resting. For some of you this bench resting is where you are now in life. You are resting either from all your labors or resting in the peace of God’s presence. This is wonderful. I am thankful for your rest.
But for others of you, the bench has a different meaning. You feel benched in life. It is like being benched on a sports team. You were playing each game and doing well. Then you made some mistakes and needed to sit out and refocus yourself. But maybe it was just the coach’s decision. You did not do anything wrong. The coach just had other preferences of who he was going to play in the game. Either way you were benched.
In life, it feels like sometimes we are benched. We did not do anything wrong, not a consequence of our actions, it just happened. Grief and loss and change feels like being benched. It is like we were enjoying life – being in the game – and then life changed and here we are on the bench not knowing how to function and live and be involved in life. Everything changed, and we were not prepared, nor did we want the change.
So wherever you find yourself today, the bench is a necessary resting place and a place of transition. Slow down your thoughts and the busyness of your schedule and sit for a moment with God. It is difficult for me to just sit but it is a necessary step in growing closer to God and figuring out life. The bench is a place to ponder, reflect, and rest. It is a place to catch your breath. I believe most benches are made of wood because we were not meant to stay on the bench forever. It is not a place of comfort where we can stay, but a place to rest and process life. It is a place to take in the beauty around us, to watch others and reflect about our own relationships. We will know when it is time to get up. The bench gets a little hard, and we realize if we do not get up soon, we are going to be too sore or tired to move further down the path to our destination.
So, when you see a bench, sit for a moment, rest with God, and when you are finished with bench resting, take the next step into life. There will be more benches on the journey. You can rest on each one. Take your time. Begin to enjoy the journey knowing you can rest with God all along the way.
