“Let my soul be at rest again, for the Lord has been good to me.”
Psalms 116:7
“There are 2 RV parks in this community. Which would be better?” I asked.
We were driving through and needed a place to park our trailer for the night. We didn’t need anything fancy – just a spot to sleep in that had showers. After a week of ‘roughing it’ in the mountains, anticipating a hot shower was a delightful thing.
“Looks like that one is close to the local airport. That might be noisy. Let’s pick the other one,” was Hubby’s practical opinion.
We found the campsite easily and settled in. Fed and watered, we turned in, glad for a quiet space.
Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Zzzzzzzzzzzgggggggggggg!
(Or some such.)
Whatever it was, it was loud.
The noise died out.
Then started up again with a vengeance.
Turns out, the local Ag society was sponsoring a tractor pull across the highway from our carefully chosen campground.
Yup.
A tractor pull.
For those of you unfamiliar with events of this nature let me fill you in. They hook a super heavy draggy thingie to a souped up tractor and have a contest to see how far the tractors can get before they get bogged down and can’t move anymore with the weight of their cargo.
It’s boisterous. Folks cheer and scream and such for their faves. Enthusiasm reigns.
But essentially?
It’s phenomenally and horrendously loud.
If you’ve ever tried to sleep through a tractor pull, you’ll understand my angst when I assert that it’s a challenge.
We couldn’t stop giggling. I mean, you can’t make this stuff up. What are the odds that we would pull into a campground a city block away from a tractor pull?
The tractors pulled. The fans screamed. The heavy draggy thingies did their thing. It was a party.
Then the concert started.
Concerts can be fantastic. I love music. Live music with some friends can be pretty sweet.
This wasn’t so much.
The speakers distorted the sound. The fans singing along added another element.
The fireworks were just the dessert.
At 3 am Hubby turned the trailer a/c on to drown out the last few partiers who had been inspired by the concert to try singing at the top of their inebriated lungs to poor quality stereos.
Yeah.
Isn’t life like that though?
Unexpected turmoil and noise to throw off our equilibrium and rob us of rest.
Somehow we got some sleep. Not a solid 8 hours, but more than I expected given the circumstances. I think our giggles helped lift the load and kept us from anger and resentment, which promoted relaxation despite the cacophony.
And somehow, when the tractor pulls and bad live concerts and fireworks invade our personal space, we need to continue functioning. The bills still need paying. The jobs and kids need our attention. The things of everyday life continue whether we are well rested or not.
Here’s where remembering the truth that God is good and that our souls can find rest even when there are distractions and the noise and chaos of normal human existence pays off.
Let my soul be at rest again.
It rather implies a few things.
One, it shows that it’s normal and expected for us to get swayed by chaos around us. It’s okay to feel temporarily upset or frustrated when things don’t go well.
Two, it implies that we have some control over our responses to life’s tractor pulls. Maybe our initial response is anger or panic or frustration. But we can get back to the state of rest by remembering God’s character and faithfulness in the past.
It takes practice, sleeping during a tractor pull.
It takes discipline and effort, redirecting our thoughts once we’re riled up and redirecting them toward God and His gifts.
But it would sure be sweet to be able to sleep through anything, wouldn’t it?
Choose rest in life’s chaos with me?
Father, life gets messy and loud and it’s hard to remember in the noise that in You there is peace and rest and calm for the ruffled spirit. Teach us how to centre ourselves on You when the distractions mount. Amen.
Growing in Grace 