“Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, 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.” 
~Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30

I don’t know about you, but I sometimes have a hard time with the time change.  Daylight Savings Time just ended.  And when I checked the sunset time this week it was as early as 4:39 PM!  When it’s dark outside so early in the evening (and chilly with a biting blustery wind to boot) it can be tempting to just stay in and rest. 

Perhaps those of us who may have workaholic tendencies want to fight this urge and resist. 
We may double up on the late afternoon coffee or tea and power through! 
Maybe we have that inner task master voice that tells us to just keep going.

Though maybe slowing down our pace (as best we can) is what this season actually calls for. 
Because the earth is showing us how to rest. 
This week we can remember Jesus’ gentle words to come to him when we are weary and carrying heavy burdens, for Jesus will give us rest. 

I don’t think the invitation from Jesus is to bury our heads in the sand and avoid all the hard stuff in our world or in our lives.
True rest is not the same as avoidance after all.
Though just powering through is not always a viable option either.  At least not for the long haul.

That’s perhaps the gift of this season of darkness that begins so early in the evening. 
We can gently challenge the frantic pace we sometimes keep. 
It can be an invitation to light a fire, hunker down, and find rest for our souls.

Love,
Pastor Lauren 

Photo by Silas Schneider on Unsplash

Thursday Thoughts 11/6/25