Burned out. Out of gas. No energy. Running on empty. Exhausted. Have you ever felt this way? I have had more days like this than I care to admit. There are times when I have so much on my plate that I can actually feel myself shutting down both mentally and physically. I am unable to think without feeling as if I am walking through a thick fog, and even the simplest of tasks become hard to accomplish. Could I actually be suffering from “burnout”?
Burnout: physical or mental collapse caused by overwork or stress.
As a busy wife and mom with a full-time job and ministry, life can be overwhelming at times.
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My five-year-old daughter sat at our kitchen table “cooking.” With contentment etched all over her face, she poured uncooked rice from bowl to bowl using brightly colored spoons and measuring cups. Her imaginary culinary treat for the day? Chocolate cake!
She explained each ingredient to me as she carefully measured and poured. And when her cake was almost finished, she added one last scoop saying, “Don’t forget the joy.” I looked up from what I was doing and asked her to repeat what she had said. “Don’t forget the joy,” she replied, her tone very matter of fact.
I stood there surprised and a bit convicted.
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When I was a little girl, I was not allowed to play in the court where we lived without the watchful eye of an adult or older sibling. Even though it appeared safe, my parents were afraid a car would come barreling around the corner, putting me in harm’s way. And they did not want me to attempt to venture over to the other side by myself, risking my safety.
As I grew older, I received the much anticipated lesson on how to cross the street to avoid injury. This lesson was called, “Stop, look and listen”. When I would come to the part of the court where it met the street, they first taught me to stop.
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Recently, one of my children was told very specifically not to do something because they would get hurt if they did it. About an hour later I hear a wail coming from their direction. Sure enough they did exactly what I told them not to do and they got hurt.
I am not exactly a prophet like Isaiah was, but he told the people of Judah that God’s judgment was near if they did not stop what they were doing. He even predicted that the people of Judah would blame God for the problems that they were facing. Wouldn’t it be absolutely ridiculous if my child who was hurt after I told them to be careful were to blame me for their pain after they were careless?
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1 Peter 5:7
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you;
As a mother of seven there are rarely moments of quiet in my home. It’s a busy day from the crack of dawn till the hours past the setting sun. And, honestly, I wouldn’t trade the noise, or the laughter, or even the constant movement for anything. Yet, still there are times where I need stillness. Not just quiet, but the stillness found by sitting at the feet of our Father and resting.
In surrender.
And that takes being intentional. When I notice that my emotions are at their end that is a signal to me that perhaps I haven’t spent enough time in prayer with my Lord and that instead I’m carrying my loads, my burdens, myself.
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You are the light of the world. A city on the hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV)
I collect bruises. Not intentionally, of course, but they seem to especially crop up in the wee hours of the morning while I’m searching for the bathroom. The end of the bed, which I know is four steps in front of me in the light, magically turns into 4 1/2 steps while shrouded in darkness.
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Sometimes we wonder if anyone is really paying any attention to our
words; if there’s any value in getting them down. There are times Solomon’s words echo through my head, “Of the making of many books, there is no end.” And I wonder if it is a worthy effort to add my own volumes–whether bound with pages or online–to the multitudes still and coming into existence.
God had Moses write down his words to the Israelites. Jesus used stories to communicate God’s truth to his disciples and to the masses who followed Him. And when all was said and done, God gave us a book to remember what He’d done and to reveal Himself to we who live thousands of years later.
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I roll over and the boys come thwomping in with their big boy feet, attached to long legs, their bear-paw hands pulling back the covers, opening my cocoon of down. They leap into my bed, my bottomless pits, and this one whose “love-tank” is never full. These two sandwich me in my bed, “I’m going to snuggle you now!” the younger one announces, eyes glinting in morning sunlight, as if I could be unsure of his intentions in this moment. This one would glue himself to me except that I’d slow him down when the wild urge rises to romp like a bronco, crashing through the house.
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