I am so tired.
“I am sooo tired.’, ‘There is so much to do.’ ‘The children are driving me crazy.’ ‘I am utterly weary and have no idea how I am going to get through what I have to do.’ Parent or teacher, most of you have words like this run through your head at times. Teacher, possibly by the end of term. Parents, by the end of the school holidays. We do not have to look far for the challenges of our lives.
Jesus calls on us to take up our cross and follow him. Too often we think this is something extra to add into our lives. Rather we need to simply ponder on the things, the multiple things we need to do every day and which often overwhelm us and we will recognise our cross. Taking up the cross doesn’t mean just putting up with what we have to do (and feel downtrodden) because that leads to grumbling – one of the best ways to deplete our energies. Taking up our cross means we recognise that what we have to do is something good, something that will make us grow as people, something that is holy. In taking up our cross we realise that God in Jesus is helping us.
Often the only thing we can change in a situation is by our attitude. Praying about our challenges is a good way to start that change. When we bring God into our weary, overwhelmed situation, we begin to see how we could tweak our routines and actions to get that bit of extra rest, to ask for help, to change the way we do things so they are more streamlined and give us a break. With God on our side, we may be surprised by how much we can do. Yes, they will may be plain and ordinary things, but that is where God most often waits for us.
Loving God, in the times that I feel weary and overwhelmed come to me and give me the rest my heart needs to sort out my life. Give me the patience and strength to be loving with my family. I ask thing in Jesus’ name confident that you will hear me.
Sr Kym Harris osb