Running Low on Fumes?
My nieces were playing games and watching YouTube on my iPad. I was in the next room and apparently the battery was super low because they went looking for the charger (or any charger, as far as they were concerned).
Anyhoo, the girls plugged it up and continued with their made-up games. One of them tried playing the iPad while it was charging and the other said, “You can’t play it while it’s charging, it won’t work right, and it’ll never charge all the way.” Such wisdom from a six-year-old… or as my mom would say, “out of the mouths of babes.”
I chuckled a little and was kind of left in awe at the fact that a child would not only understand that but care to put the theory to use. You know, because most kiddos never let anything charge completely – or even to 2% for that matter.
Recharge Your Tired Soul
That thought spoke out loud by my baby struck a chord with me. It put some things in perspective. How often do we actually “recharge”? And you know what I mean… We say we’re taking a vacation, but we take our work phone and laptop. We take a personal day from work because we are exhausted, but we spend all day cleaning.
Now, I’m not knocking your (our) approach to life, but I’m thinking that maybe… just maybe… we are constantly drained because we never fully “recharge our batteries”. We are all so on the go that we fail to heed the signs to stop.
As the hustle generation, we spend our days “chasin’ paper”, “bringin’ home the bacon”, and being superhuman. The truth is, we are not the Energizer Bunny and we do wear out.
I mean, what happens when you don’t properly care for your electronics? What occurs when the batteries are overused? They get weak and become useless. Kind of like those 12-year-old batteries in your remote that cause you to have to keep smacking the back of it just to change the channel (or is that just me? Lol).
You may not believe me, but I’m going to share this anyway: “It’s okay to rest.”
God rested and He commanded us to rest as well. And, ya know what? If you aren’t taking a rest every now and again, you are being disobedient. Yep, God never intended for us to be overworked. Matthew 11:28 says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and I will give you rest.” In the New Living Translation, that same passage says, “Then Jesus said, “come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” See, He was talking to you after all.
So, What’s the Play Call?
Sometimes, we refuse to rest until we’ve completed every task on our mile-long checklist. We often hold out until a certain amount of money has been made. That’s not how any of this is supposed to work. We shouldn’t need an injury, sickness, or significant loss (job, loved one) before we voluntarily/involuntarily take a break.
Here are a few tips to help you “recharge” that battery of yours:
- Do only what you can at the moment. Cut that list into quarters. Believe it or not, you can’t do it all in a day. You know that saying, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” And neither will your empire, so take your time. “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…” Ecclesiastes 3:1
- Use your “off” time wisely. It’s okay to really take that day off. You do not have to make a task list for your vacation time. “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.” Genesis 2:2
- Plug in to the ultimate power source. In those moments when you feel drained, allow God to fill you up, connect to Him for strength. “God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.” 2 Samuel 22:33
To work hard and expire before you see the blessings and benefits of your labor – due to running yourself down – is a waste. Accept the rest of God. “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” Hebrews 4:9
