This week the topic for the Five Minute Friday link-up post is Grow. What is a link-up? Essentially a link-up is when you join other bloggers and write on a similar topic. You share your blog posts with one another and begin conversations via a host site. You can head over to Kate Motaung’s page to check out other entries from inspired bloggers. Here’s my five minutes of uninterrupted, unedited writing on this week’s topic:
The past few months have brought a lot of growth for my faith. I’ve been challenged and stretched, but one thing I’ve learned is that in order for growth to take place rest must accompany it. Through God’s strength I’ve been able to let go of some things that I had held closely to in order to fulfill his will for my life. I’ve also taken time to notice ways in which I’ve allowed things like housework, measuring up, and comparison become like idols in my life that have kept me from achieving optimal growth.
Recently, I was using my Thrive Moms App and reading through Isaiah 30. This entire chapter is about when God gave Israel clear instructions, but they decided to ignore his will in pursuit of their own.
Through their toil God was telling them, “In repentance and rest is your salvation; in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of that.” (Isaiah 30:15)
Like the Israelites, for so long I pushed my own agenda when I should have been listening to how God was stirring my heart. My head was telling me I had a list of things I needed to do or accomplish at the expense of the rest that God had promised. I wasn’t able to enjoy the fruits of my labor because I was so focused on things that distracted me from God.
In order to grow I needed to learn this lesson: It’s okay to rest.
When my child is in the middle of a growth spurt I know it because she rests far more than usual. Sleep is necessary for the human body to grow. Trust me, when I was growing a human in the womb I did a lot of sleeping. It is a natural and essential part of growth to rest.
We go through seasons in our lives. And we will never be able to completely avoid noise and chaos, but if we are ever going to see growth in our lives we have to understand the importance of rest and quietness. God speaks loudest in the quietness of our souls.
So carve out some time in your busy life to rest. Set aside a portion of your day to quiet yourself. Then prepare to be grown and stretched into the person that God created you to be.
The Ameri Brit Mom
The Ameri Brit Mom 
Yes! Love this post. And this line — “God speaks loudest in the quietness of our souls.” I resist those times of rest, but I can usually sense God wants me to slow down…especially when it gets harder and harder to see His presence and understand what He’s trying to tell me. I often want to keep doing! Rest is so good and refreshes us for the tasks to come.
P.S. We’re FMF neighbors!
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Yes! “God speaks loudest in the quietness of our souls. So carve out some time in your busy life to rest. Set aside a portion of your day to quiet yourself. Then prepare to be grown and stretched into the person that God created you to be.”
I love this so much! That verse from Isaiah is one of my all-time favorites! Such a challenge to remember! Thank you for this excellent reminder. Beautifully written!
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Thank you so much, Carey!
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