I usually begin my day full of energy. I throw on a baseball cap to cover my oily hair, apply little dabs of cover-up to hide the unsightly bumps that appeared overnight, and drop off the kids at school. Even though I have yet to put my “face on,” my spiritual eyes are open and I’m ready to experience whatever awesomeness God has in store.
I go and go and go.
By 4:00 p.m. I feel like I’ve hit a wall. You know that infamous wall of exhaustion? We all experience this burnout collapse it’s just a matter of how often.
My family asks:
Are eating healthy? With all the Butterfinger bells and Christmas candy around, are you kidding?
Exercising? Does hauling laundry up and down the stairs count?
Sleep? Usually get about 7 hours. It depends whether a 7, 5, or 3 year old wakes up and crawls into bed with us.
Organization? Of course. I’m a planner; a stick to a schedule kind of girl.
Life simplified? I try but it’s hard. I want to say “yes” to everything.
Naps? No time for it. I think taking them actually makes me more tired.
God, do you know how worn out I feel? Do see how hard I’m trying? Remember last week? When the leaky bathtub flooded the house? That wore me out. Remember when half the roof blew off and we had to call for help? That wore me out too. Then the house alarm wouldn’t turn off and woke up the entire neighborhood at 11:00p.m.? That wore everyone out. Oh and don’t forget the jury duty. That week plumb wore this woman out.
“I am weary, O God; I am weary and worn out, O God,” (Proverbs 30:1 NLT).
God, I don’t want to be worn out. I need to give you and my family my best.
"It's useless to rise early and go to bed late, and work your worried fingers to the bone. Don't you know he enjoys giving rest to those he loves” (Ps. 127:2 MSG)?
My worry and anxiousness last week stole my attention away from my Jesus. I spent more time worrying than I did praying. I spent more time concerned about my tomorrow than I did about God in my today.
“She has wearied herself with toil; its abundant corrosion does not go out of it,” (Ez. 24:12 ESV).
Yes, Lord, instead of holding every thought captive and putting my trust in you, I “wearied myself with toil.” And it corroded the seconds, minutes, and hours of my day. I spent more time and energy being anxious than I did abiding in you. My activity seemed more important than yours.
When we become tired and overburdened, the Creator of the Universe wants us to come to Him and rest with Him. Only when we slow down do we notice God. Only when we take a deep breath do we notice God’s grip on stressful moments.
So my sweet fellow stressed out women, when you feel pushed to the brink of insanity, run to the One who cares, kneel at His feet, clutch His hand, and climb into His lap as you find peace, restoration and renewal in Him.
“For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish," (Jeremiah 31:25).
I go and go and go.
By 4:00 p.m. I feel like I’ve hit a wall. You know that infamous wall of exhaustion? We all experience this burnout collapse it’s just a matter of how often.
My family asks:
Are eating healthy? With all the Butterfinger bells and Christmas candy around, are you kidding?
Exercising? Does hauling laundry up and down the stairs count?
Sleep? Usually get about 7 hours. It depends whether a 7, 5, or 3 year old wakes up and crawls into bed with us.
Organization? Of course. I’m a planner; a stick to a schedule kind of girl.
Life simplified? I try but it’s hard. I want to say “yes” to everything.
Naps? No time for it. I think taking them actually makes me more tired.
God, do you know how worn out I feel? Do see how hard I’m trying? Remember last week? When the leaky bathtub flooded the house? That wore me out. Remember when half the roof blew off and we had to call for help? That wore me out too. Then the house alarm wouldn’t turn off and woke up the entire neighborhood at 11:00p.m.? That wore everyone out. Oh and don’t forget the jury duty. That week plumb wore this woman out.
“I am weary, O God; I am weary and worn out, O God,” (Proverbs 30:1 NLT).
God, I don’t want to be worn out. I need to give you and my family my best."It's useless to rise early and go to bed late, and work your worried fingers to the bone. Don't you know he enjoys giving rest to those he loves” (Ps. 127:2 MSG)?
My worry and anxiousness last week stole my attention away from my Jesus. I spent more time worrying than I did praying. I spent more time concerned about my tomorrow than I did about God in my today.
“She has wearied herself with toil; its abundant corrosion does not go out of it,” (Ez. 24:12 ESV).
Yes, Lord, instead of holding every thought captive and putting my trust in you, I “wearied myself with toil.” And it corroded the seconds, minutes, and hours of my day. I spent more time and energy being anxious than I did abiding in you. My activity seemed more important than yours.
When we become tired and overburdened, the Creator of the Universe wants us to come to Him and rest with Him. Only when we slow down do we notice God. Only when we take a deep breath do we notice God’s grip on stressful moments.
So my sweet fellow stressed out women, when you feel pushed to the brink of insanity, run to the One who cares, kneel at His feet, clutch His hand, and climb into His lap as you find peace, restoration and renewal in Him.
“For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish," (Jeremiah 31:25).
This is a great post. As women, we tend to taken on a lot and 'mother' everything. We become tired, wore down, and stressed very easily.
ReplyDeleteI do all of the right things. Take vitamins, drink water, get plenty of rest, eat veggies, all of that, yet I am still so tired. I started praying for God to be my portion. When I am weak, God be my strength. When I am tired, God be my engery. This helps me to keep my focus on God not on being so tired.
Thanks for the great post.
"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalm 73:26 Amen!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! Now, I'm a firm believer of doing something nice for yourself when you've had enough of being elasto-mom. First, grab your left shoulder with your right hand...now, grab your right shoulder with your left hand and squeeze! You just got a virtual hug!!! The next step usually involves a simple yet wonderful dose of chocolate and of course, a great cup of coffee (and the latest issue of Victoria magazine :). Wish I could join you! God Bless, and I hope the rest of your day goes well.
ReplyDeleteDeb
Well this is EXACTLY what I needed to hear today. Something happened this weekend that changed our lives forever, I'll write about it tomorrow in my blog, but I was just telling God how I'm worn out. I've never been so weak in my entire walk with him (i had no idea that was possible because I was a mess when He found me). Thank you for this post when I get to that point I will stop and listen for God instead of stretching myself to the point of exhaustion.
ReplyDeleteI love this about our God... "When we become tired and overburdened, the Creator of the Universe wants us to come to Him and rest with Him." He's our refuge. He renews us. He restores us. And I still become overwhelmed by His love for us.
ReplyDeleteI'm worn out to the max! Thank you for the reminder that God is there to catch us and we are not alone ever!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your words today...I think I'm just slap worn out! Spent this afternoon in my MD's office for tachycardia (fast heart rate)...maybe it's brought on because I try to do WAY too much....
ReplyDeleteThanks Kelli! That made me feel good.
ReplyDeleteWell, I hope you don't mind, but this spoke to a weary and worn out man as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!