A Dormouse At Christmas
It seems counterintuitive to be writing about rest at this time of year when most of us are caught up in a frantic round of preparation for Christmas; shopping, cooking, wrapping and hoping that this Christmas won’t be cancelled. And usually I am one of the worst culprits for getting caught up in such preparations – behaving like a real action-orientated Martha rather than a reflective Mary.
But in this period of Advent, God has once again brought me to a standstill, this time through radiotherapy. And In this new season of my cancer treatment – with its focus on preventing recurrence – I find myself forced to rest.
There’s no doubt about it radiotherapy is a walk in the park compared to chemotherapy, but I have been surprised by how effectively it has robbed me of my normal pre-Christmas energy. In fact I seem to have turned into a dormouse! All I want to do when I get home from hospital is to curl up in a ball and fall asleep.
I was certain that I wasn’t such a somnambulist last time I went through radiotherapy but my family have reminded me that this isn’t the first time I have likened myself to a dormouse!
Since starting radiotherapy last week, I have been fighting against the fatigue, determined to keep on organising but, as the treatment has progressed, I have finally begun to realise that far from being a curse, this tiredness is in fact an invitation from God . . . to rest.
In fact the gospel of Matthew records Jesus offering this invitation saying,’ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (11:28) Rest is a gift from God. In fact, until recently, rest was hard baked into our secular week through Sunday closures – a legacy of the pattern of work and rest modelled by God himself.
But rest is also a form of worship. Because deep rest only comes when we stop leaning on our own understanding, when we stop trying to live through our own strength, but trust in our Creator and lean into him.
As I write this, the shape of this Christmas is still unclear as we wait to see if more Covid restrictions will be imposed. But if our festivities do need to be scaled back, I pray that, amidst the inevitable disappointment and upset, we are also able to accept God’s invitation to take a moment to rest, to curl up and think about the true meaning of Christ-mas and wonder at the gift of Emmanuel ‘God with us’.
Kate Nicholas is a preacher, Christian author, broadcaster and consultant. Her best-selling memoir Sea Changed (shortlisted as Christian Biography of the Year 2017) is an account of her unconventional journey of faith and previous healing from advanced cancer.
Her latest book, Soul’s Scribe: Connecting Your Story With God’s Narrative , draws on scripture, philosophy, psychology and over 20 years’ of reflection as a Christian communicator to take you on a journey through the various chapters of your soul story, providing you with the tools to share that story in a way that will inspire and encourage others.
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