And to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven …
—II Thess. 1:7
5003 Jesus’ Example Of Rest
Edwin R. Roberts of Princeton Seminary once sat under a pastor who concluded his announcements, “I am not going to take a vacation this summer; the devil never does!”
Roberts went home and re-read the Gospels to see what Jesus’ attitude is. He found that of His three years’ active ministry, there were mentioned 10 periods of retirement! This was in addition to the nightly rest and the sabbath rest.
Whose example are we following? the Devil’s?
5004 No Music In A “Rest!”
“There is no music in a rest, but there is the making of music in it.” In our whole life-melody the music is broken off here and there by “rests,” and we foolishly think we have come to the end of the tune. God sends a time of forced leisure, sickness, disappointed plans, frustrated efforts, and makes a sudden pause in the choral hymn of our lives; and we lament that our voices must be silent, and our part missing in the music which ever goes up to the ear of the Creator. How does the musician read the “rest”? See him beat the time with unvarying count, and catch up the next note true and steady, as if no breakingplace had come in between.
Not without design does God write the music of our lives. Be it ours to learn the tune, and not be dismayed at the “rests.” They are not to be slurred over, not to be omitted, not to destroy the melody, not to change the keynote. If we sadly say to ourselves, “There is no music in a “rest,”” let us not forget “there is the making of music in it.”
—Mrs. Charles Cowman
5005 When Spurgeon Slept Continuously
After speaking on one occasion to a gathering of 23,654 people in the Crystal Palace, C. H. Spurgeon returned home. One of his biographers states:
“The exertion of preaching to such a huge audience must have been great, although C. H. Spurgeon tells us he did not at the close feel conscious of any unusual fatigue. But that Wednesday night he went to bed and slept continuously until Friday morning, an experience he had at no other period of his life. All through Thursday Mrs. Spurgeon went at intervals to look at her husband, but finding him sleeping peacefully she wisely let him rest until nature should be satisfied.”
5006 Apostle John’s Example
There is a beautiful and picturesque legend relating to the Apostle John.
John, we are told, had a tame partridge which he cherished much; he amused himself with feeding and tending it.
A certain huntsman, passing by with his bow and arrows, was astonished to see the great apostle, so venerable for his age and sanctity, engaged in such an amusement.
The apostle asked him if he always kept his bow bent. He answered that in that way it would be rendered useless.
“If,” replied John, “you unbend your bow to prevent its being useless, so do I unbend my mind for the same reason.”
It may be, reader, that you should follow John’s example, and relax once in a while.
—Prairie Overcomer
5007 Lesson From Swimming
One of the essentials of a good swimming stroke is that it be one that provides a rest period. No matter how efficient may be the pull with the arms, or the kick with the legs, unless there is a regular time, however brief it may be when the arms and legs can rest, the swimmer soon becomes exhausted. With his threefold nature—spiritual, mental, and physical—man needs to pause or rest, if he would maintain efficiency.
5008 To Break Long Car Trip
The Florida Turnpike has placed in service the first free car wash on a major highway. The car-washing equipment has been installed at the Okahumpka service plaza near Wildwood, the northern terminus of the turnpike. The free service is performed for both southbound and northbound motorists, not only as a convenience, but also to provide a break in long trips. “It is hoped,” says the Turnpike Authority, “that travelers will stop and stretch their legs, helping to rid themselves of road hypnosis and making their trip a safer one.”
—New York Times
5009 Early Retirement
A captain of Adrian’s guards, who retired early from active life, aged sixty, dictated the following epitaph for himself: “Here lies Similis, who lived but seven years, though he died at sixty seven.” An officer asked a discharge of Charles V assigning as a reason, that there ought to be a pause between the hurry of life and the awaiting of death.
5010 From Spoon To Floor
Salvador Dali reports that when he needs a short nap, he puts a tin plate on the floor, then sits on a chair beside it and, holding a spoon over the plate, relaxes into a doze. At the precise moment of the onset of sleep, the spoon slips from his fingers, clatters onto the plate, and he snaps awake. Dali claims that he is completely refreshed by the sleep which occurs between the time the spoon leaves his hand and the time it hits the plate.
—William C. Dement
5011 Pres. Hoover On Fishing
Fishing is a chance to wash one’s soul with pure air, with the ripple of the stream and the shimmer of the sun on the blue waters.
It brings meekness and inspiration from the glory and wonder of nature, and charity toward tackle-makers. It brings mockery and profits; the quieting of hate and lift of the spirit. And it brings rejoicing that one does not have to decide a thing until next week.
An Assyrian tablet of 2000 B.C. says:
The Gods do not subtract.
From the allotted span of men’s lives
The hours spent in fishing.
—Herbert Hoover
5012 Un-Pressed “Observer”
In the Kewanna, Ind., weekly Observer, publisher Bill Lyon ran this notice on page one: “The office of the Observer will be closed June 1, 2 and 3 due to good fishing conditions. The office door will be left open and paper and pencil will be on the counter for accommodation of patrons who wish to leave news items or advertising.”
—Associated Press
5013 Doing Nothing With Father
During the World Series a writer asked the Milwaukee Braves’ Bob Buhl what he was going to do after it was over. “I’m going to Saginaw to help my father,” said Buhl.
“And what does he do?”
“Nothing,” replied Buhl.
—New York Herald Tribune
5014 Epigram On Rest (Relaxation)
• The stops of a good man are ordered by the Lord as well as his steps.
—George Mueller
• A good traveler is one who does not know where he is going and a perfect traveler does not know where he came from.
—Lin Yutang