I don’t know about you, but it’s January 2nd and I’m already tired.
I’m a mom, friend, sister, daughter, pastor’s wife, teacher, writer speaker… woman.
And I’m tired.
Today I sat down to write and all I could think is how tired I am and how much I want to go to sleep.
Then it occurred to me that you might be tired, too.
Are you?
Are you tired from being up too late on New Year’s Eve? Or with a child in the night? Or from too much binge watching Downton Abbey?
Are you tired of dishes and laundry and cleaning and wiping tears and boo-boos and picking inside-out socks up off of the floor?
Are you tired of scrolling through Facebook posts and Tweets trying to escape the mundane of crumbs, coupons, sibling squabbles, and bubble bath rings in the bathtub?
Are you tired of balancing budgets, priorities, and the expectations of others?
I am.
I’m tired of the pressure to measure up, to be a good example, to find the right words to say to a struggling friend.
I’m tired of trying to figure out the right curriculum, the right career path for my kids, the right form of discipline, and the cheapest place to buy dish soap.
I’m tired of reading books and reading people and misunderstanding both.
I’m tired of the pressure to come up with a word for the year, or a verse for the year, or a list of goals for my life, or resolutions for 2015. All those things invite me to fail as much as to succeed, and it wears me out just thinking about it.
I’m tired of battling sin in my own heart and guiding seven little people in their own battles with sin, and confronting sin as I interact with others.
I’m tired from all the days I lose the battle.
I’m just. plain. tired.
And into my tiredness, Jesus whispers:
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28
So, I rest my weary heart on his grace and as the tears of relief begin to fall, I whisper back, “Amen.”
This posting, resonates but reasons far afield. Age accommodates dalliance which, in turn, nurtures the cynic … in me!
Yes, weariness wears a variety of masks. Therefore, I offer a quote from one who nurtures my faith in unique ways …
Trust
I remember sitting parked by the roadside once, terribly depressed and afraid about my daughter’s illness and what was going on in our family, when out of nowhere a car came along down the highway with a license plate that bore on it the one word out of all the words in the dictionary that I needed most to see exactly then. The word was TRUST. What do you call a moment like that? Something to laugh off as the kind of joke life plays on us every once in a while? The word of God? I am willing to believe that maybe it was something of both, but for me it was an epiphany. The owner of the car turned out to be, as I’d suspected, a trust officer in a bank, and not long ago, having read an account I wrote of the incident somewhere, he found out where I lived and one afternoon brought me the license plate itself, which sits propped up on a bookshelf in my house to this day. It is rusty around the edges and a little battered, and it is also as holy a relic as I have ever seen. (Frederick Buechner)
– Originally published in Telling Secrets
Peace
This posting, resonates but reasons far afield. Age accommodates dalliance which, in turn, nurtures the cynic … in me!
Yes, weariness wears a variety of masks. Therefore, I offer a quote from one who nurtures my faith in unique ways …
Trust
I remember sitting parked by the roadside once, terribly depressed and afraid about my daughter’s illness and what was going on in our family, when out of nowhere a car came along down the highway with a license plate that bore on it the one word out of all the words in the dictionary that I needed most to see exactly then. The word was TRUST. What do you call a moment like that? Something to laugh off as the kind of joke life plays on us every once in a while? The word of God? I am willing to believe that maybe it was something of both, but for me it was an epiphany. The owner of the car turned out to be, as I’d suspected, a trust officer in a bank, and not long ago, having read an account I wrote of the incident somewhere, he found out where I lived and one afternoon brought me the license plate itself, which sits propped up on a bookshelf in my house to this day. It is rusty around the edges and a little battered, and it is also as holy a relic as I have ever seen. (Frederick Buechner)
– Originally published in Telling Secrets
Peace
Thanks, Julia! I feel ya. I really appreciate your transparency in this particular post and am glad I’m not the only one. His grace is sufficient. Lots of love to you guys.
Thanks, Julia! I feel ya. I really appreciate your transparency in this particular post and am glad I’m not the only one. His grace is sufficient. Lots of love to you guys.
yeah, me too. Thank God for Matt. 11:28. Not only that he assures us that he will give us rest. But, he
gives us another surge of energy, to push through.
Thanks – for speaking honestly and how so many of us are feeling the same way.
Roberta P
yeah, me too. Thank God for Matt. 11:28. Not only that he assures us that he will give us rest. But, he
gives us another surge of energy, to push through.
Thanks – for speaking honestly and how so many of us are feeling the same way.
Roberta P
Amen, indeed….amen
Amen, indeed….amen