“Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest awhile,” Jesus said.  Rest.  A break from all the racket and activity going on around us.  Rest.  A chance to renew, refresh, to stop, to slow.  Rest.  Not working, if only for a little while.  Rest.  An opportunity to stop doing that you may simply be. Rest.

“Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest awhile.”  That’s what Jesus tells his disciples after they had shared many stories of teachings and healings and all sorts of things they had experienced while on their first ministry tour.  Jesus senses that the disciples needed to rest. They are tired, overstimulated, hungry, and in need of some alone time.

Imagine that you were one of those disciples that day.  You just need to get away. Or, maybe you were in the crowd trying to get to Jesus? You’ve heard about Jesus’ compassion, the many needs that were being met, the miracles and healings and powerful teachings, the new life he is bringing.  If only you could just touch even the fringe of Jesus’ cloak?

Regardless of who you are in this story, Jesus invites us to come away and rest awhile in the presence of the Lord.  Whether we realize it or not, we are all hungry and in need of the Lord.  If we could just touch the fringe of Jesus’ cloak – because the same Jesus who cared for the people that day, cares for us. So, come away and rest a while in the presence of the Lord.