Busy Never Stops
Busy Never Stops
Since the beginning
of November, I have been extremely overwhelmed, overbooked, oversensitive,
overworked, and overstressed, to say the least.
Following up my Fall 2018 semester with four months of Student Teaching (starting
in January) that would lead to graduation, it was clear that my mental, physical,
social, emotional, and spiritual life was (is) crumbling. From a serious acne breakout to stomach
issues, depression, anxiety, and burnout, it was becoming clear to me that
despite my wonderful boyfriend, dance team, supportive friends, and powerful
God, that without taking time to rest, I would only further continue to widen
and deepen my hole of despair.
Reading a Devotional
one cool winter evening, as I snuggled deep into the comfort of my heated
blanket, the warmth of more than just the sheet itself began to press itself
upon my soul. Hearing the words come to
life like narrators reading their smoked and softly primed movie scripts, I
realized how long it had been since I’d taken a Sabbath, let alone one day
without work, college, teaching, dancing, working out, or tending to my
friends/families/pets/boyfriends needs.
And to be honest, that scared me a whole lot more than the newest façade
of a rollercoaster at Kings Island. It
scared me because I started to realize how fast time was passing, and how easily
I had bought into the lies of “busy” without adequately taking the time to
nurture and care for myself. From
working every summer straight through to college full-time, two to three jobs,
leading a dance team, small group, two praise teams, and more, I was utterly
spent, and it killed me to admit that.
As a twenty-three-year-old
Christian, I would be dishonest to say that I never get tired of helping
people. However, I would also be the
first to tell you that serving, volunteering, and leading others are the three
core vitamins of my life that I’ve adopted and lived out since I was just eight
years old. Facing the conditions listed
above with this passion has been quite a challenge. You just honestly don’t know
what it is like to crave wanting to help others until you are sobbing on the
bathroom floor because you are so tired, you don’t even have the energy to help
yourself. And in that moment, that’s
when I heard God say, “Busy Never Stops” and I realized that in order to gain
that passion and strength back from years upon years of burnout, it would take
more than continually surrendering it all to Him as I had been doing, but truly
taking a day of rest to enjoy and care for myself the way that He intended for
me to.
I started realizing
that to give my all to these people, organizations, and things I care so deeply
about, I needed to take at least one day off for me, and that that in and of
itself was not a selfish thing. I’d
heard for years that self-care was selfish, and placing others above yourself
was the way to go, but even Jesus needed time alone with his Father and often
turned down crowds because the demand He was given, couldn’t amount to the human
energy He was spending, without taking the time to refill and recharge in the
one who held His nourishment (Luke 5:16; Luke 6:12, ERV).
Currently, it’s a
Monday morning, and I should be at school student teaching. Caught by a small snowstorm instead, however,
I am left alone with my thoughts and the company of my humming laptop, barking
dogs, and loving parents’ laughter in the kitchen. Minus the stomachache currently cramping my
sides, I am trying my best to rest and will soon spend time with the Father in
our daily Scripture reading time of the day.
I am still uneasy with the silence, with the lack of busyness for this
singular day. But in the back and carved
out corners of my heart, I know that Christ calls me to take care of myself
just as much as I long to again take care of everyone else, and someday, my
burnout will cease so much so, that I’ll be full and overflowing with energy,
compassion, love, and fervor again.
Busy Never Stops, in
fact, like time, it is something that keeps on going. However, unlike time, it does allow you to
have a say in its condition: In the hours you serve, in the events you plan, in
the schedules you overbook, and in the limits to which you choose to over
exceed yourself. And to the contrary of
all the little voices whispering in your head, it is not weak, prideful, or foolish
to take one day, one hour, one minute for you.
In fact, it is holy; it is precious; it is longed for by the soul
(Exodus 20:8-11, ERV). Perhaps that is
why life is eventful, demanding, tiring, hard, hectic, and dare I say busy,
because if it wasn’t, would we ever recognize our need and dependence for time spent
in solitude and restoration with Him? Busy says “no,” and I’d have to agree.
Rest easy my friend, I know you need to.
Agape,
Amber