Click above to listen to Resting from the album The Voice (recorded at the George Lucas Skywalker Sound Studio). If you enjoy, consider purchasing the song, album download, or CD from Amazon, iTunes, or stantonlanier.com (where sheet music is also available).

Have you been receiving rest in the midst of life’s stress, busyness and hurry?

With regard to rest, are you more likely to strive for it, or receive it? As we go into the three-day Memorial Day weekend here in the U.S., I hope your resting is enhanced by a short life story from this week, and the liner notes behind this song.

To experience rest fully involves surrender, letting go of things out of your control, and stopping the worry. I have found much better results from a posture of receiving (open heart, open hands) rather than striving (gritted teeth, clinched fists). My rest was put to the test this week when my wife’s email address speed went from normal to very. very. slow. I am our family “IT Guy” (computer fixer), which is a scary thought, and had to (calmly) deal with the service provider over the past few days. I struggled to rest in the situation because this was a rare case where nothing was wrong with our computers or equipment, yet they would not accept responsibility and admit this problem could be their fault (even though while using the email account an error message appeared saying something was wrong on their end – Warning. Server Error. Connection is Very Slow.). Ultimately I had to surrender, let go, and stop worrying about the circumstances and the outcome, which were both out of my control. It was not easy, but the intense frustration reminded me I needed to receive rest.

Memorial Day is a U.S. federal holiday wherein the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces are remembered. This definitely puts life’s “problems” in perspective. There is reason for all of us to pause, give thanks, and rest in the freedom and blessings we are able to enjoy. Because others have sacrificed to bring more peace, rest and joy to our lives, we can express our gratitude, whether to military, family, relatives, friends, teachers, or bosses.

Here are the liner notes from The Voice CD for the song Resting you have been listening to: “Rest is something I often seek, to take a step back from the pace and fullness of life, to trust that things I cannot control are in good hands, and to find a few moments of calm strength in a world so full of unrest. There are times that I need to rest by relaxing, and there are opportunities when I need to rest in the midst of activity.”

Rest – Are you receiving it?

“The Lord replied, ‘my Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.'” – Exodus 33:14