At the end of your rope

Greetings bloggers!

This week has been a whirlwind! Luckily, it wasn't an unexpected whirlwind. It was the kind you could see coming for miles in the distance. Kind of like watching a hurricane creep up on the shore line from miles away, at least you knew you could batten down the hatches.

Ed and I switched our day off from Monday to Friday in an attempt to get more done before the Wednesday kick off. I intended to be in the office until around 3:00, but when I started cleaning out the youth rooms and setting up the new tables and chairs, it took until 6:00 pm to get out of there. Tuesday was our normal meeting day, which meant the hours between 9:30 and 1:30 were spoken for. This would have been fine, except we had agreed to volunteer that evening at the Pittsburgh Food Bank from 4:30 until about 9:00. Wednesday was of course the big Veritas Kickoff (more on this later!), which meant another 12 hour day. Then Thursday became the "do all the normal day to day work you kept pushing off because the kickoff needed more of your attention" day, which lasted well into the evening. When I finally pulled into my driveway last night at 10:30, my bones were achey, my feet were tired, and I was worn out.

It's times like these that Matthew 11:28 seems to be so very profound.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Everything I was doing throughout the week was good. Everything needed to be done. There were COUNTLESS times that while I was working on something that God's glory showed up and made me smile. But at the end of it all, I was just tired.

I think there's something in the American Culture that says that it's illegal to let yourself show how tired you are. It's some sort of sign of weakness that you might be burdened or worn out. I've seen so many people just keep pushing through, working until there's nothing left, simply because they feel like they have to.

And yet Jesus' words here seem to indicate that he knew we'd be getting tired. It's as though in his eyes, it's not only acceptable, it's expected. It's not a sign of weakness at all. It's a sign of being alive.

So today, as I spend most of my time parked on the couch watching Judge Judy, I encourage you to give yourself permission to be tired. Admit those times where you find yourself at the end of your rope. And above all else, know that the living Savior saw it coming, and wants to be your source of rest.

Godspeed,

Jason