One of the elements of Christian living that draws people as communicated in Matthew 11.

 “Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Accept my teachings and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit, and you will find rest for your lives. The teaching that I ask you to accept is easy; the load I give you to carry is light.”

~ Matthew 11:28-30, NCV

 It is a profound element because it seems there are few places in our world that offer peace, rest and perspective.  Most everything that our days consist of is demanding.  So demanding that in many cases, busyness creates health and emotional problems.  These words of Jesus break into the chaos and offer a place to rest.  Not a place of escape, but a place of rest, a place to recharge and a place to remember.  The place that Jesus calls us to is perhaps what inspired Tolkien to create Lothlorien, the fairest of the forested Elven Realms in Middle Earth.  To all, it was a land that provided a space 'out of time' for the people who both live and visit there.  For the Fellowship, it was a refuge and a place of safety.  When Frodo and his companions arrived, Galadriel welcomed and encouraged them.  When they were done talking, she said, "Go now, and rest, for you are weary with toil and much sorrow. Tonight you shall sleep in peace."  These words make me think of those of Jesus.  We often are weary with toil and much sorrow and it seems we can't go on.  But that is the reason Jesus calls us to Himself.  When we feel like we can't go on, we again turn to Jesus, lay our burdens down and take up his yoke…for His yoke is easy and His burden is light.  It is not so much a physical place, but a lifestyle.  To come to this place means to believe (Acts 16:31); to receive (John 1:12); to eat (John 6:35); to drink (John 7:37); to look (Isa. 45:22); to confess (1 Jn. 4:2); to hear (John 5:24, 25); to enter a door (John 10:9); to act (Acts 2:38); to touch the hem of His garment (Matt. 9:20, 21); and to accept the gift of eternal life through Christ our Lord (Rom. 6:23).  In short, it means to walk by faith.  To be able to face life and live life the way it was meant to be lived.  May we all find rest for our souls in the year that is upon us.  May the peace that fills our life be something that draws others to the Jesus that gives rest.