Tip of My Iceberg

We’re at our second conference in a week, this one in Berlin, Germany. We left Milwaukee at 6 am, spent 24 hours between airports and in the air, and arrived in Berlin at 8 am the next day in time for a 9:00 meeting.

I don’t sleep well on planes. I read, watched movies, tried to get comfortable, and couldn’t. I was awake for over 24 hours, and I’m now experiencing the physical slump of jet lag.

I’m so tired.

Exhaustion is becoming a frequent yet unwanted friend to many people. We keep ourselves busy, subtly buying into the idea that we’re worth what we produce. Such busyness becomes a way of life, and we don’t even realize we’re depleting ourselves until we nod off in the middle of a conversation or fall asleep at a red light.

I’ve done both.

I’m aware that I struggle to maintain a good work-life balance. There always seems to be more to do, and those things are often valuable–or at least they seem that way to me. Granted, I tend to be more of a high-energy person with a lot of words. My husband’s greatest joy is for me to have used up most of my words at work before I come home so he doesn’t have to be the receptacle of overwhelming verbiage.

The sapping of energy can come from intense people interactions, physical labor, focused mental work, or an accumulation of all of the above. Even children with seemingly unlimited amounts of energy will tire out when they’ve had too much in their schedules.

Our challenge is knowing when to slow down, choosing to rest, and not feel guilt for not doing more.

Jesus understood what it meant to be tired. While He lived on earth, God, having taken on the form of a human, experienced all the challenges that confront us. He travelled from town to town, preaching the gospel and healing people.

One day, after hours of ministering to others, He told His disciples that they were going to cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee to help more people.

“As they sailed across, Jesus settled down for a nap. but soon a fierce storm came down on the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in real danger. The disciples woke Him up, shouting, ‘Master, Master, we’re going to drown!’ When Jesus woke up, He rebuked the wind and the raging waves. Suddenly the storm stopped, and all was calm. Then He asked them, “Where is your faith?’” Luke 8:23-25

Jesus needed rest. He ministered to many, always putting the needs of others before His own. But His body also required sleep, a chance to recharge. Even during a storm, He felt the peace of His Father so He could sleep for just a bit. The disciples panicked; they feared what they couldn’t understand. They couldn’t grasp that the God of all creation was in the boat with them.

Too often, I feel like I have to do it all. That if I don’t get it done, it won’t get done. But that’s an arrogance I can’t afford. I’m finite, limited in what I can do and the energy to do it.

I have faith that Jesus will provide rest when I need it and strengthen me to do what I need to do.

Now all I need to do is put that faith into practice.