Good morning! I'm so glad you are here, thank you all for coming out this morning. As your reward, you get to learn something that you can take away with you, and that you can feel smart about sharing at whatever barbecues or social gatherings you head off to this weekend.

Does anyone know what Labor Day commemorates? Here's what I learned from the U.S. Department of Labor's Web site. (I love the Internet!) Pay attention, there will be a quiz at the end.  J

"Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American worker. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883. By 1894, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories."

OK, that's the end of your history lesson. Maybe that information is helpful to those of you who have wondered, as I have, why we celebrate something called "labor" with a day off!

And, before I go any further, happy Labor Day! I hope this is a restful day and weekend for you, and that you can look back on your summer as a fun and rewarding one.

Actually, it is not quite as paradoxical as it might seem, at first glance, to celebrate the laborer, and his or her work, with a day of rest. From the very creation of the earth and everything in it, work was followed by a day of rest. One of my very favorite Christian authors is Brennan Manning, who is probably best known for his book, The Ragamuffin Gospel. In another of his books, Abba's Child, Mr. Manning writes,

"the seventh day celebrates the completion of the work of creation and is holy to the Lord… As the memorial day of creation, the Sabbath meant a worship of adoration and thanksgiving for all God's goodness, for all the Jews were and had. A rest from the preoccupation with money, pleasure, and all creature comforts meant getting a proper perspective in relation to the Creator… the Sabbath was a day of rigorous honesty and careful contemplation… rooting oneself anew in God. The Jew on the Sabbath learned to pray: "Our hearts are restless all week, until today they rest again in thee."

"Our hearts are restless all week, until today they rest again in thee." But my message this morning is not about recognizing the Sabbath, returning to Sunday as a strict day of rest, or returning to the Blue Laws that limit shopping and such on Sundays. What I most wanted to talk to you about, on this Labor Day weekend, is "rest." And to remind you, or ask you to hear for the first time, that for Christians the hardest work has already been done for them, in Jesus's death on the cross. Because of God's incredible, boundless love for us, we can rest – physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually – knowing that the price for all of our limitations, mistakes, and vulnerabilities – has already been paid. We can be still, and know that God is God. Alleluia.

So please allow me to tell you about rest. I have become somewhat of an expert on it, I believe. I learned how to rest when I was diagnosed with severe hypothyroidism three years ago. Being hypothyroid means that your thyroid gland, which is also called Gland Central, is functioning below normal – not producing enough of the thyroid hormone that keeps many of the body's functions on track. One of the primary symptoms is ongoing fatigue, as your body struggles to keep everything running smoothly without an essential hormone. In July and August of 2000  I was fatigued just about all the time, and when I finally went to the doctor, I learned that an autoimmune disease had destroyed most of my thyroid gland – an ultrasound showed that 80% of the gland was dead tissue. My body was struggling incredibly hard to get enough thyroid hormone, out of a gland that was only 20% functional.

The good news is that thyroid disease is correctible with synthetic thyroid hormone. However, due to the nature of the treatment and the medication, it takes a very long time to determine the correct dose of synthetic hormone, and to start feeling even close to your old self. For me, it took almost a year. Today I am doing much, much better – though I do take a lot of naps! J But in between my diagnosis and finding the right level of medication, I had to learn to rest.

In fact, I had to learn to say, "I can't" - even though "I can't" is a phrase that is practically heresy in our American culture of self-reliance. And I felt that way, too. Being busy and active was my way of life. But with an underactive thyroid, if I didn't sleep enough, or if I overdid it on activities, I would become exhausted to the point of being in pain.

I continued to go to work because I was single and needed the income. However, I would wake up in the morning, feeling tired from the get-go, and wonder how I was going to get through the day. I was forced to admit that I literally could not do it on my strength – because I had none, physically. That was not easy. But I truly did not have a choice. I needed God's strength to sustain me physically and emotionally. My morning prayer had to become, "Lord, I cannot do this. I give this day to you, please take care of all that needs to be done, and help me to rest in you." And that's exactly what happened, day after day after day, until I could handle more on my own.

The thing is, while I was in this healing period, I would read the Bible more, and pray more, to pass the time. (You can only watch so many videos and so much TV!) I started to understand that this disease was allowing me the time to get to know God, and myself, better. By the time I had regained some energy and could do more and more, I was completely sold on relying on God to lead me through the day. I had learned especially that I could rely on Him to fill in the gaps, to be in the midst of situations where my strength and abilities would fall short.

`For the first six weeks of my illness, I was especially weak physically, and I felt especially vulnerable emotionally. But guess what. God's strength is made PERFECT in our weakness. And His grace is sufficient for us. That seemed to cover all the bases for me, and I got through that time with His grace and provision, having learned lessons that still add to my joy and abundance of life today.

I think that one of the most important lessons that I learned in that time is that God's love for us is not based on what we do. How can it be, when God knew us and loved us before we were born? We heard that in the Psalm this morning:

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb…

All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

It was not our idea, or on our own strength, that we came into being, you and I. And it is not on our strength, or on how much we accomplish, that God measures out His love for us. To the contrary, I found that cutting back on my "accomplishments" gave me more time to spend with Him.

How often do our many activities and commitments lead us away from spending even five minutes a day with our wonderful Creator? I heard that there is a popular Christian book called Too Busy Not to Pray, by Bill Hybels. I haven't read it yet, but a good friend of mine recommended it highly to me several years ago. I keep meaning to pick it up and read it, but I am always so darned busy…. 

Did you know that the human body needs rest? I don't just mean the 8 hours of sleep a night that so few of us manage to get. My boyfriend, Rob, is an amateur track athlete. He trains several times a week, and one of his workout routines is to run 200 meters in 35 seconds, eight times in a row. However, in between each 200-meter run, he rests for one minute. His body needs the 60-second rest between 35-second runs, so that the higher levels of lactic acid, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide — that exercise produces in our muscles — will go down. Otherwise, Rob's muscles are too full of impurities to continue running, and muscle cramps will prevent him from completing his workout. So, when Paul speaks of running the good race, remember that God did not intend for us to run that race full speed ahead, 100 percent of the time.

Despite the messages that we receive from our society, it is good to rest, and it is alright to admit to needing rest. The Bible tells us that Jesus himself would go apart from the crowds, even from the apostles sometimes, to rest and to pray. Jesus promises, in Matthew 11: 28-29,

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

One of my favorite images of Jesus is that of the apostle John, who referred to himself  as "the one whom Jesus loved," leaning affectionately against Jesus's breast. Resting. Enjoying the love of his friend and teacher. When you believe that you are The Beloved of God, you can rest.

I referred earlier to a book by Brennan Manning called Abba's Child. "Abba" is the intimate, colloquial way that Jewish children addressed their fathers in Jesus's time. Abba's Child taught me much about relinquishing the "mature," critical, analytical side of my nature, so that I can receive the wonderful tenderness of accepting God's passion for me, and sheer delight in me. Here is a wonderful, true story from Mr. Manning's book:

"A priest from Detroit named Edward Farrell went on his two-week summer vacation to Ireland. His one living uncle was about to celebrate his eightieth birthday. On the great day, the priest and his uncle got up before dawn and dressed in silence. They took a walk along the shores of Lake Killarney and stopped to watch the sunrise. Standing side by side with not a word exchanged and staring straight at the rising sun. Suddenly the uncle turned and went skipping down the road. He was radiant, beaming, smiling from ear to ear.

His nephew said, ‘Uncle Seamus, you really look happy.'

‘I am, lad.'

‘Want to tell me why?'
His eighty-year-old uncle replied, ‘Yes, you see, me Abba is very fond of me.'

"Me Abba is very fond of me"…  My savior is head over heels in love with me. And He loves me enough to let me rest. He even loves us enough to be actively and intimately involved in our welfare. We heard from Romans this morning,

"And we know that in all things God WORKS for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Did you catch that? The Bible says that God Works. For us. On our behalf. He does not delegate, he does not ponder options and alternatives, he does not assign a committee. God works for the good of those who love him. Our Lord is an active, involved God who loves us enough to long for, and strive for, our highest good.

Does that sound like a God who would not want us to take some time out to rest?

These days, when I'm sitting down to write a To-Do list because there is way too much to keep in my head, I put "rest" down on the list. Seriously. When my obligations threaten to overwhelm me, it is sometimes that hard to remember that resting is worthwhile, too.

Another item that I write on my to-do list: "pray." Sometimes my To-Do list is a prayer, because I just can't imagine how I'm going to get it all done. The grocery shopping, the bill-paying, the car servicing, the doctor's appointments, and so on and so on. Yes, just the basic necessities of life can keep us on the run. But God knows, so much better than we do, what truly needs to be done, and when it must be done. If I'm feeling overwhelmed, I even give that kind of administrivia to Him.

He is, after all, the God of order. And if you ask him to, He will walk before you and make the crooked places straight……   Even if you're only going to the post office.

And then to the library.

And then to the bank.

And then to the gas station.

And so on. And so on. And so on.

Because He loves us that much. Because He is so much bigger and greater than my life and yours, and nothing is beyond our God. Because Jesus calls our souls to rest in Him. As a wise Christian friend put it one time, the Savior speaks softly to us, saying, "I did not come to bother you; I came to give you a kiss."

My wish for you today, as we acknowledge the end of summer and celebrate the American worker, is that you will learn to rest. Be still, and know that God is God. Let God be God. There is nothing that He cannot take care of for you, if you turn it over to Him. Because He is our loving Father, and each of us is His precious, precious son or daughter – each one of us is Abba's child.

May God be with you and those you love, today and every day.

Amen.

"Our hearts are restless all week, until today they rest again in thee."