"Super" Leah?

I can't say that I'm an avid comic book fan, but I've certainly enjoyed the "superhero" movies that have come out over the past few years, exemplifying "ordinary" people who have extraordinary superpowers. Sometimes I wonder, "If I could have any superpower, what would it be?"

Flying is an obvious choice and being "super metabolism woman" is a close second. During a week like this, however, I think my choice might be the ability to never have to sleep. As much as I enjoy crawling into a nice, big bed with clean sheets, my thought is that if I never had to sleep, I could get so much more done.

I'm in the middle of one of those intense weeks when it seems like all major projects for work, school, and life in general collide into one magnanimous schedule, causing me to many times wonder how I will ever get it all done. It seems like the only solution is to somehow supersede my human weaknesses, to be "Super Leah" overcoming even the most basic needs to eat well and sleep. Sick, isn't it?

Last week during our staff devotions, I led a short study looking at the concept of rest. I usually like to avoid what God has to say about rest because as I mentioned I don't like to actually "practice what I preach." What I found, however, is that God was really intentional with His creation of rest. Think about it. God did have the superpower. He really didn't need to eat or sleep and yet He intentionally took time to rest at the completion of His work. Why? From what I studied, it seemed to be two reasons:

1. It was a gift, an intentional time to find physical, spiritual, and emotional rest, and to enjoy it! If someone gave me the opportunity to have a free vacation, I'm pretty sure I would want to jump on that offer. So why don't I receive that same offer that God gives me every week? It's because I fight acknowledging the second reason for rest.
2. It was a discipline, a time to remember all that God has done, and to recognize the reality that I cannot "do it all" and really, do anything on my own. When I don't take time to step back from the rigors of life and recognize God's part in it, I very quickly delude myself into taking the credit for it, believing myself to be some kind of "superwoman" that can accomplish more than other mere mortals. I need the Sabbath because I need to live in the humility that it brings.

God cares so much about rest that He went out of His way to provide for it. He provides double the manna for the Israelites so they don't have to collect it on the seventh day (Ex. 16), and even triple the amount of crops every sixth year so that the land could take a rest every seven years from the grueling crop seasons (Lev. 25). The Israelites never quite got it, and I can't say that I wouldn't look at that triple crop and think, "Wow! With this kind of bounty I can be so much further ahead if I work again next year . . ." I do it every day.

If I can't get everything done, it's either because I'm not allowing God the opportunity to supernaturally provide, or I've put too much on my plate, trying to get beyond what He's planned for me. I confess that I always have and most likely always will continue to struggle with this commandment, but I pray that in the midst of this weakness, God would prove Himself strong and empower me to grow and fight my tendency to try and be "Super Leah," and to simply be the child He's created me to be.

I'd still like to negotiate those other two superpowers, however. :-)