The result of constantly running headlong into the stiff winds of life is to be in constant need of rest, replenishment and rejuvenation.

There is so much of disappointment, dejection, criticism, failures, heartaches and physical pain that we can be easily wearied. Like Elijah, we find ourselves wearing thin with the burdens of life and sometimes say, "It is enough." (See 1 Kings 19:4.)

How constant and frequent the need to be revitalized, to drink from the waters of life for renewal.

So essential to life is the need for renewal that our first lesson in rejuvenation comes in the creation of the Earth. "And on the seventh day I, God, ended my work, and all things which I had made; and I rested on the seventh day from all my work" (Moses 3:2).

After the comprehensive effort of creating yet another world, a process so wondrous and unfathomable that it remains a mystery to man, the Father pronounced His work "good," and then rested.

Rest for renewal was a specific and pointed part of His plan.

We find built-in sources of renewal, such as the sunrise, harmonious music, laughter, a kind word, the society of good people.

Almost everywhere in nature we find some provision for renewal. It was God who set the cycles and sequences of nature. To study nature up close is to see life in a state of constant renewal.

As marvelous as this power of renewal is in nature, it is even more compelling when we realize that it extends to us. We are endowed by a benevolent Creator with a promise and capacity for both physical and, more important, spiritual renewal.

Because of our Redeemer and the power of His atonement, we can renew, refresh and rejuvenate our spirits here and now in a manner just as miraculous as anything in nature.

The Savior's life is a study in renewal, such as how He went to the mountains where He could commune with His Father, removed from those who sought His attention. A wedding feast provided love and laughter among family and friends. The joys of life flowed freely as He spoke of eternal things with His disciples as they walked dusty paths. Renewed by the morning sunrise, He called Peter to follow Him. On another morning He greeted weary and perplexed apostles with warm coals to cook bread and fish after a night of fruitless fishing.

The experience of drawing near to the Savior is renewing. Coming unto Christ by recognizing areas of improvement is renewing. Striving to acquire a divine attribute such as patience, kindness or forgiveness is renewing.

As we seek to improve, we see things we never saw before. We feel new confidence for the work of life. There is new richness in relationships. Somehow there is a newness to life. We are more satisfied and less sour.

Renewal comes best when repenting. It becomes a natural by-product of repenting, an aspect sometimes overlooked in our Sunday School discussions.

So great is the need for renewal in life that those unfamiliar with spiritual things will seek refreshment wherever possible, which could include fake forms of renewal such as gambling and some other forms of entertainment.

The Book of Mormon details the Nephite cycle of renewal and deterioration. "Therefore the Lord did cease to preserve them by his miraculous and matchless power, for they had fallen into a state of unbelief and awful wickedness; and they saw that the Lamanites were exceedingly more numerous than they, and except they should cleave unto the Lord their God they must unavoidably perish" (Helaman 4: 25).

"Jesus Christ brings a troubled world and the troubled people who live in it, solutions to personal struggles and human sinfulness, a source of strength for days of weariness and hours of genuine despair," said Elder Jeffrey R. Holland in the October 1996 general conference.

"In that spirit we declare to all the world that for real and abiding peace to come, we must strive to be more like that exemplary Son of God."