Tired

Are you tired? I am. In this case, tired is different than fatigue. When I think of being tired, I remember things I did that would have contributed to the tiredness. Fatigue seems to relate a condition that might be brought on by things we do, but often are the result of external and/or physiological stresses. We often say we're one when we mean the other. Either way, rest is what is needed to refresh us, and as has been pointed out here before, we don't know how to rest.

I remember not wanting tomgo to bed as a young child. How many do? Noises bothered me - sirens wailing terrified me, waking me up and causing a lot of grief. One of the nicest sounds, though was my dad's VW bug on the way home from anywhere at night. I loved the sound the tires made on the road, and the gentle hum of the motor putt-putting down the road. This is when i would fall asleep easily. Another nice sound to fall asleep to is the sound of a passing train whistling in the night. We don't hear those much, anymore.

As I got older and grew out of that phase, the degree of tired was exponentially affected by how much I played. I think I often could actually make myself so tired I couldn't sleep. But life has a way of affecting you that we don't really see. Before long, the responsibilities and cares of the day take over and cause our fatigue. Things aren't right, no matter how much we try to convince ourselves that we are all right, and we spend time needlessly trying to figure out how to make things right.

No, things are not right. It is not anything we can fix. All our scheming, conniving, trickery, nor planning can ever solve the issue. At every turn there is the potential for heartache and sorrow, sadness and despair, worry and fear. Left to navigate the maze of this life on our own, if we are truthful with ourselves, we realize that we cannot do this alone. We were made for something more. We don't have to worry or be afraid, and we don't have to despair.

This life is hardand there will be sadness, sorrow, heartache,just as the brokeness here causes God sorrow. But in his infinite love and mercy he did not leave us in our sorrowful state. He emptied himself, and sent his son as the perfect ransom for us to be reconciled to him to know rest. That begins here, even in the midst of so much suffering. We don't have to wait until eternity to know his rest, we only need to know him now.

As you continue to pray, please include Salvador, nephew to a close friend who is in the midst of a fight with cancer. Add also the son of a friend of Pierre who is also battling cancer. Might htey know God's sustaining presence and peace in this moment.