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| Stacked - watercolor - Rebekah Bell (miniature in a series about being overwhelmed) |
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It’s been a busy few weeks for me. I thought I was handling things well, but the
past couple days I have just needed to stop.
No the pain isn’t bad, but it’s there at the end of the day. The fatigue has caught up with me a few
times. Too many things demanding
attention and I’ve not been managing my energy as well as I can. I wouldn’t say I’m in a “flare” but definitely
walking the line. So here I sit with my
to-do list crossing off everything that doesn’t NEED to be done, and a few
things that DO. Frustrating to say the
least. Especially knowing I will let
people down, I have already let myself down.
I’m sure you all have been here, sitting where I am today. So where do we go from here? Where do we turn to keep this from spiraling
down into a flare, or depression?
First, we need to look in the right direction.
“Come to me, all you
who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
Next, think “Big Picture.”
“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed;
perplexed, but not in despair;
persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death
of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.”
2
Corinthians 4:8-10
Believe that God can and will restore you.
“Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the
ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his
understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the
power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men
stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their
strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and
not grow weary,
they will walk and
not be faint.” Isaiah 40:28-31
I hear Jesus calling me when in Matthew he says “Come to me…” So I will be spending my day with Him. And it will not be a wasted day, it will be a
day of rest and restoration! What will I
do? I will read his word, I will pray, I
will journal and I will do some art. I will
take care of my little one and play, pick kids up from school, make meals for
my family and in Jesus' name, not let this day take me down!
“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but
gives us power, love and self-discipline.” 2 Tim. 1:7
I must admit, I have always had to take extra rest, even
before I developed fibro. I’m an
introvert and it always has made me very tired to go out and do anything,
including being with other people (yes even people I love). I need to have some peace and quiet and alone
time to feel restored. Having this
syndrome has made me much more aware of this and from what I hear from others,
it is necessary for us to recuperate after even simple everyday activities like grocery
shopping or going to a lunch meeting. Problems arise when we don’t take this time
to rest. Pain, more fatigue and brain
fog are quick to creep up on us when we push too far. The longer the activity, or more energy exerted,
the more rest we need.
