“Feel the burn” Have you heard that expression before? It’s usually used in connection with a work out to indicate your muscles are working and stretching and getting into shape. It’s not a nice feeling, but usually if you’re in an exercise class or in a team sport, that’s what the instructor might say to keep you motivated. Well, let’s consider what feeling the burn looks and feels like in other parts of our lives. Do we recognize the burn and burn out in our emotional lives? Maybe you have heard of burnout in first responders. After seeing so much trauma, these brave men and women can experience burnout, where they are no longer able to have the same level of compassion and empathy for those hurting and they distance themselves (emotionally) from traumatic situations.But if you are not a first responder, would you recognize your own burn out emotionally, spiritually, and physically?
Recently, my husband and I took a much needed trip for the two of us. It was to be a time of relaxation in the warm sun, after an unusually cold winter season. It was also to be a time of relaxation for me after a stressed out time with leaving a job and starting a Seminary program. I was feeling stressed out and knew I needed a break, a chance to reset my my direction, and seek God’s direction. What I hadn’t realized was just how much I was stressed, until a perfect stranger told me, “You NEED to take care of yourself.” She emphasized the word “need” and placed her hand on my shoulder as I left our meeting. Her words really sunk down deep. I thought I was taking care of myself. I was trying to eat better, trying to exercise, trying to walk more, trying to drink more water, trying to pray more…..Notice the word trying. I thought this is what I needed to feel better. And they are all good things to do for ourselves. But this stranger, the one I had trusted with raking bamboo sticks over my tensed shoulders, recognized just how tense and burned out I had become. As she rolled the warm bamboo over my shoulders, I felt pop, pop, pop. My muscles were so tense, she was actually having trouble. But it was her words that stuck with me. I knew I had been stressed, but failed to recognize how stressed out I was. I did not recognize my own emotional burn out. But it showed up in my physical body as a result of the stress I was trying to deal with on my own.
And that’s where the real answer and the real problem lies. Even though I know I need to trust God, I still try to fix my own problems.. and everyone else’s. I try to be all things to all people. Today I was reminded of God’s offer of rest. It’s from Exodus 33:14, “The Lord replied, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest'” (NIV). In this passage God and Moses are having a conversation. Moses had come down from the mountain with the first of the Ten Commandment tablets, only to find the Israelites dancing around an idol they had made. Moses, in his anger when he saw this crazy scene, threw down the stone tablets, breaking them to bits in the process.Moses had lost his patience with the Israelites. You could say he was a bit stressed when he took the idol, smashed it, ground it up into a powder, mixed it with water and made the people drink this concoction. (Ex.32:20) But, God wasn’t done with these crazy rebellious people. He still wanted them to go to the Promise Land and He wanted Moses to lead them. Moses was asking God to go with him. To show him what to do and to reassure him that God was with them as they traveled. God’s answer was “Yes!, “I will go with you AND give you rest”. Awwwh, this is the rest I need! The rest that God gives, the rest that lets God lead and for me to follow. The rest that is secure in knowing God is with us, right there in the middle of everything. This is my challenge to get rid of my own burn out and stress, allow God to lead and accept His rest. May it be yours as well. -God Bless Nancy
Moving Forward 