Do you ever get to the evening and feel like you just don’t have anything left to give? After giving to my children all day, by the time dinner is over sometimes I feel as though I am wrung out to my last drop of energy. I was feeling a
little bad about this, after all I really love my family and want to give them my all. Also, didn’t Jesus go to the cross and literally give us His everything, right to His last drop of blood?
Obviously I am not Jesus, but I was still feeling a little guilty about how “done” I feel by the end of the day. Then I came across Mark 6:30-32 in the Bible. In the passage, the apostles were coming to Jesus to give Him a report of all they had been doing, and the things they had been teaching. In other words, it was the end of a long day. The passage goes on to say that because so many people were coming and going that they didn’t even get to eat. I know about that! Sometimes I realize that my mood has more to do with a lack of food than with anything else.
What happens next in the account though, was what really caught my attention. Jesus tells them to come with Him to a quiet place to rest, (and I would assume, eat.) Now if even the apostles needed to take some time out, I guess that means a busy mother needs some rest as well. After all, it is probably my pride getting in my way if I think I don’t need something that even Jesus and His disciples needed.
I have now found that if I take a five minute break here and there, to take a deep breath and regroup, I can come back in ready to give and love again. Rest for each of us can look different, and I do take a longer time in the morning to mentally and spiritually prepare for my day. I would encourage you to find what works for you, to find what fills you up in order to pour out to those you love. Whatever it is Jesus is waiting, saying, “Come with me by yourself to a quiet place and get some rest.”
“The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’ So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.” Mark 6:30-32
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