I was trying to get Titus to bed the other night, and like most babies, when I said "Time for sleep sleep!" or "You gotta go sleepy." He responded with a close-to-tears "No." "Are you sleepy?", "No." "Wanna go in the crib?", "No." His eyes were red, he was a bit tipsy when he walked, and cranky besides. Sure signs of a very tired baby. But he refused to go to sleep. There were toys to play with, piano keys to bang on, a carpet to toddle across. Nothing could convince him of what I could see. He was tired and cranky and needed a good night's rest.
I pondered that for a while shortly after he fell asleep (finally ;-) ). Aren't we just like grumpy little babies? We are so busy running around trying to "play", trying to accomplish things, trying to get all of our work done, bear all our burdens. But God can see we are tired. he sees we need rest. He calls us to come and rest. To cast our cares upon Him. But we insist that we're not tired. We can do it. Red eyes and cranky attitudes even a tipsy walk, we insist that we can keep going. Until we totally run out of steam and crash. Instead of getting the sweet rest that He desires to give us, we fall asleep on a chair (or a bookcase =)  ) somewhere. We break down, we get frazzled. We snap. But that's not His plan for us.
We need to give it all to Jesus. Let Him bear our burdens, take our cares. Not that we should be free of responsibility, by all means no. But that we should be free of the worry, the stress. That we should find peace in leaving all in His hands. So that we can have a smile, not a long look of wear and care. =) ( compare the above photos) =D