Mark 6:31b (NIV)
Come with me by yourself to a quiet place and get some rest.
My husband is the busiest man I know. Just looking at his calendar makes me break out in a sweat. He works 3rd shift, 4 nights a week at a local gas station. Add to that, he is a volunteer EMT/Fireman, Chaplain, Interim Pastor, Children’s Ministry Volunteer, Umpire/Referee for softball, baseball, basketball, and volleyball, he is interning for his counseling degree and don’t forget general all around husband, father, and grandfather. OK, are you sweating now too? Seriously, my head hurts!
Me you ask? Oh, I fulfill my duties as wife, mom, grandma, Children’s Ministry Volunteer, Special Education Teacher at a public high school, head of two independent consulting jobs (jewelry sales and service dog consulting/training), a student working on her dissertation to finish her doctorate degree and oh yes, an author. Wow! I guess my plate is pretty full too.
What about you? Do you ever feel like you are meeting yourself coming and going? Do you recognize the people in your home that claim to be related to you? Do you recognize that person you just passed in the mirror? Yes, I have actually done a double take wondering who else just walked into my bathroom. Don’t judge it was early in the morning, the hair was a mess and well never mind.
Being busy and having lots of obligations isn’t a bad thing. We all like to feel needed. God made us to be servants. Even Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). However, Jesus also knew when to take it down a notch. He understood he needed time away to rest.
In our verse today Jesus saw that the disciples were spent. As a matter of fact, the first part of verse 31 says. “Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat.” Wait, stop right there! I am telling you right now if you look up “hangry” in the urban dictionary of slang, you will see my angry little face! You know you have all been there. The bottom line is we are not any good to any of those people we serve if we are worn out.
Make some time today before you are spent and hangry. Go with God by yourself to a quiet place and get some rest. You won’t mess up your schedule. You won’t run out of time. What you will do is recharge, refresh and relax in God’s arms, so you will be ready to get up and serve again.
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