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b'Daffodils lifted their creamy yellow faces toward the sun, the birds sang\\nin the branches of the flowering magnolia tree, a breeze sent ripples\\ncascading across the otherwise still pond. My friend and I were\\nexperiencing year three at our annual retreat, and this place reminded us\\nto direct our focus back on God and be still before Him (Psalm 23:2).\\n.\\nOn our second day at the retreat, my friend announced she was going to walk\\nthe labyrinth by herself. (This labyrinth was different from a maze,\\nbecause there were no choices or dead ends, just one path\\u2014edged with\\ndaffodils\\u2014that meandered back and forth until it reached the center of the\\ncircular labyrinth.) There was something God had been prompting her to let\\ngo of, and she needed some concentrated time of releasing it to Him. \\u201cI\\u2019ll\\nbe praying for you,\\u201d I encouraged her as she headed out the door. I\\nimagined her winding her way through the mown paths of the daffodil-filled\\nlabyrinth, tears glistening in her eyes as she gave the burden to Jesus.\\n.\\nWhen we met back up over an hour later, my friend\\u2019s load seemed visibly\\nlighter. She shared with me the lessons God taught her while walking\\nthrough the labyrinth: \\u201cAt first I was so fixated on the path, all the\\ntwists and turns, that I almost forgot to take inventory of all the beauty\\naround me.\\u201d She then chose to slow, examining the daffodils, touching the\\npetals, enjoying the journey. \\u201cIt\\u2019s like life,\\u201d she mused. \\u201cSometimes, we\\nare just rushing around the corners, and we forget to slow and enjoy the\\nbeauty God has placed all around us.\\u201d\\n.\\nIn the center of the labyrinth was a large rock. When she reached the end,\\nmy friend rested on the rock, giving God the thing that had been weighing\\nher down. \\u201cI wonder if they put the rock there at the end on purpose\\u2014so\\nit\\u2019s like you\\u2019re resting on Jesus, our Rock.\\u201d I shared how that morning I\\nhad been meditating on Psalm 62, in which David mentioned three times that\\nGod was his Rock.\\n.\\nWhether or not we have a chance to get away on a retreat, we can choose to\\nlisten and be still before God wherever we are. We can say with David, \\u201cMy\\nsoul finds rest in God\\u2026 he is my mighty rock\\u201d (Psalm 62:1, 7). Jesus is\\nworthy of all our trust; He is the One who saves us and gives us salvation\\nand rest for our souls (Matthew 11:28-30). \\u2022 Savannah Coleman\\n.\\n\\u2022 Psalm 62 points to the only One who can save us: Jesus, the Rock (verses\\n1, 2, 6). Because of Jesus\\u2019s death on the cross for us and the power of His\\nresurrection, we don\\u2019t have to wander through life in an endless maze,\\nunsure of our ending. If we\\u2019ve put our trust in Jesus, we can rest assured\\nthat God\\u2019s love will always follow us, and one day, when Jesus returns\\nbodily to earth, we will be with Him forever (Psalm 23:6). Even as we\\nwalk through darkness and difficulties in life, we don\\u2019t have to be afraid,\\nbecause God is with us (Psalm 23:4). He wants us to bring all our heavy\\nburdens\\u2014our questions, frustrations, and fears\\u2014to Him. Is there something\\nweighing on you today? Consider taking some time to bring this to God in\\nprayer. \\n.\\n\\u2022 One of God\\u2019s gifts to us is community. How can sharing life with fellow\\nChristians help us follow Jesus? Who are trusted Christians in your life\\nyou can talk with about your relationship with God? (If no one comes to\\nmind, you can ask God to help you identify someone in the future.) \\n.\\n\\u2022 Throughout the Bible, God calls His people to rest in Him, and He\\nprovides this rest through Jesus (Matthew 11:28\\u201312:8). What are some\\npractical ways you could take time to slow down and enjoy the beauty God\\nhas placed all around you today? \\n.\\nTruly my soul finds rest'