[Friday's Devotional] - Villa Borghese

Villa Borghese Rome is a noisy, busy city. Somehow in the heat it seems to get busier and nosier.  Just up the road from the Spanish Steps, a sharp climb up a steep hill, leads you to this beautiful spot. Lucie and I love this "little" corner of Rome.  Whilst this is not a travelogue, I do recommend, if you are in Rome, and you have time, you make your way here. Covered with trees and on top of one of the 7 hills, it has wonderful views of the city.  But more than that, it's a haven.  Surrounded by the trees, the temperature drops a few degrees, the air becomes cleaner and lighter, and the sounds of the city seem distant and elusive. We all need refuge form the busy-ness of life. I certainly do. My life is stressed, normally due to work, I try to put impossible standards on myself and then stress and beat myself up when I don't match my own expectations. We need time to relax, to refresh, to absorb and digest everything that gets thrown at us on a daily basis.  If we don't recharge then we can get snowed under. Just as the Vila Borghese is a refuge of solitude in a busy hectic Rome, Church and God should be your refuge from the busy and hectic day-to-day life. God wants us to rest in him, to rest not from the week just gone, but to rest in him for the week ahead.  To rest in him when you are weary and life has trodden you down.  It's difficult, I know I'm far from perfect at it.  I always find an excuse to skip Church or not pray or read my Bible.  There are a million other things to do and get done...but we need rest.  We need peace. We have just finished Lent and several years ago, instead of giving something up for 40 days, I added something to my day.  Every lunchtime I would go and find a very quiet spot, either in a garden or in an empty office, pull out a little pocket Bible and flip to a page and read 10 verses.  Then pray and reflect. It was wonderful and I felt myself being a calmer person.  Do I still do it now?  Sometimes.  Do I wish I could do it more?…Yes.  Should I?  Most definitely. Try it, you might like it, it will definitely bring you closer to God: God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.  Psalm 46: 1-3 [NIV] Steve Fogo   Twitter Website Copyright © 2017 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!