I looked at the calendar and saw six of the seven days for this week full of appointments or events; dentist appointments, orthodontist appointments, sports banquet and biggest of all, my daughters graduation party. And in the midst of it all I am scheduled to write a super encouraging note to you. To be honest, I really didn’t want to write anything. The past few weeks have been emotionally and spiritually draining and I felt as if I have nothing left to give, especially any kind of encouragement for moms. It would be easier for me to sit in my corner and mope about my life and how hard it is.
Ever felt this way?
Spent
Drained
Empty
Yet, you are expected to continue on.
My prayers lately have been,
“Lord, you expect too much of me. I can’t do this today. I need a break from life!”
And in the sweet and constant voice of the Spirit I hear,
“Quit looking for a break in life and learn to rest in me!”
Ok, maybe it wasn’t so sweet, but it is constant.
I love the passage in Mark when Jesus tells the disciples, after many long grueling days of meeting the needs of others, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” (Mark 6:31 NIV) So what did they do? They went out in a boat to a place the Bible says is a “solitary place”.
Just the word, “solitary” sound beautiful to me. My days are spent being pulled in so many directions, driving kids all over the place, meetings, doctor appointments and household duties. I want a boat to get into!
The words “mom” and “solitary” should be listed as Antonyms!
Here is Jesus giving me a personal invitation to come away by myself and rest; his permission to draw away. When I am feeling drained, spent and empty it is usually because I have not been making the time to get away by myself and rest in His words, promises and truth. I let life get so busy around me that I feel consumed by it.
Think of yourself as a cup. When we are running from here to there, caring for our kids and/or husband our cup is being poured out. How are we to refill it? I try to refill it with all the wrong things most of the time and what happens is I am empty, tired and in a bad mood. I try to fill it with girl time (time with friends), Facebook or food. It never works.
When I fill my cup with Living Water I am always satisfied and never left empty. It is amazing how that works! When I start my day in prayer with the Lord I am prepared for the day. When I take time to read my Bible and meditate on scripture I am energized to face whatever is in store for me. God has so much he wants to speak into my life, but he is waiting until he has my attention. Unfortunately, that often comes when I am running on empty, but I am so thankful that he is there waiting to fill me up!
Get in the boat and get some rest!
