Death To Weariness

Life is a long journey, or more accurately, a trek. Some days, we want nothing more than to give up when everything seems to be going in the wrong direction. We wake up refreshed, ready to bulldoze the world…and then life happens. We get cut off, not twice, but three times on our commute to work, almost get run over and end up punching in late, putting our already heavy workload that much further behind. Then, a co-worker comes to work with a rotten attitude and then our computer freezes up. After the computer gets back up finally, our printer goes out. At lunch time, you realized you forgot your lunch and don’t have any extra money to spend right now, so you decide you might as well work right through lunch, as you are behind anyway. The rest of the day is pretty uneventful, however, so you breathe a sigh of relief as you listen to uplifting worship music on the way home. Then you walk in the door, and the kids had a crisis or a meltdown and so it starts once again.

However, we must make a conscious choice every single day to not let people or things weigh us down. It is so easy to get caught up in the difficulties around us, especially when everything seems to be going against us. It feels like every waking moment is a battle sometimes and no matter how hard you push through the darkness, it seems overwhelming. It seems like all the good we strive to do is in vain sometimes. No matter how nice and pleasant we are or how great our attitude is, sometimes people are just plain ornery and things still do not work out.

I used to be naïve enough to think that if I always spread love, kindness and gentleness to everyone, they would reciprocate. I thought my positive attitude would rub off on them. I had a rude wakeup call one too many times, however, and I realized that people were going to behave the way they were going to behave, no matter how great of an attitude I had. I used to take this personally, having grown up in an abusive home where I was led to believe that everything was my fault or that I was so bad that I deserved getting treated badly. However, my breakthrough came years ago when I realized that this was not true (but a lie from the enemy).

Another breakthrough came when I quit placing expectations on how others should treat me (and that this was independent from how I treated them) and it lifted a huge burden off my shoulders! When I released people from this expectation, the kindness I showed them was solely because I desired to love others right where they were, whether they loved me back or not. I realize that everyone has a battle I know nothing about and when they carry a less-than-desirable attitude, it could be sheer weariness from the battle they are facing right at this moment.

When my focus gets off of the Lord and on the things around me, I notice that difficulties as well as those people who are being difficult seem to be much bigger than they actually are and I am downright weary. All that I do every day to try to make a difference in other’s lives seems to get lost in the shuffle, practically meaningless. However, when my focus is on the Lord and the blessings in my life, the difficulties in my life seem dim in comparison and I am spurred on to be a blessing to others even more.

Instead of trying so hard to love everyone and expecting to be loved by them too (which is very tiring), I started gauging the majority my focus on those around me who seem lonely or who appear to be going through a hard time. I still take a minute or two to show simple kindness, gentleness and love to everyone as Christ calls us to do, but I do so and then move on from there. If I want to really make a difference, I need to go where the difference needs to be made the most.

Doing too much for too many people is enough to make anyone weary, even the strongest of us! I have learned that when I spread myself too thin and try to be too much to too many people, I get too weary to do anything at all. All I want to do is go home, plug into the wall and recharge my battery, which never seems to fully recharge. Then instead of being out there making a difference, I am at home doing nothing at all.

Galatians 6:9 says, "Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart." Do not allow yourself to get overwhelmed and weary in doing things for others while completely neglecting yourself. I don’t know what it will take for you personally not to become too weary in doing good, but I know what works for me every time: Putting my focus back on God, remembering my purpose and taking regular time to do something good for myself or take a weekend away to relax.

One of the best things I have done in a very long time for myself was to take off on a road trip to the beach, just me. I had no agenda, no time restrictions and when I was not on the beach enjoying the waves and sand, I was looking for something different to enjoy in a nearby city. Although I was only gone for a long weekend, I left there feeling more energized and refreshed than I had in months if not years, and I did not feel the least bit guilty. I had the time of my life! And when I returned back to life again…I felt like Super girl!

So do not allow yourself to become weary in doing good…for in due time good will come, even if it takes a long time to see the fruits of your labor. Just don’t give up in the meantime and remember to be kind to yourself too. J