Exhausted but Encouraged

Today my life felt like a game of Kerplunk. All the little plastic straws were removed from the plastic tube and it felt like my marbles fell out and were lying in the plastic dish.

The details aren’t as important as the fact that I was just plain old emptied out of all energy. Dried up. Wrung out. Deflated. Hollowed out. You get the picture. In simplest terms, I was exhausted.

It didn’t have entirely to do with just today. I think there was a cumulative effect going on, but today the last straws were pulled and I had nothing left. So, I snuggled up with one of the children who was not feeling well, scratched her back for a little bit (with the last bit of energy I had) and then fell asleep with her for two hours.

Oh, there were a thousand things that needed to be done and even some that I would have liked to do, but I needed sleep. It was the only solution at that point, and the last thoughts that crossed my mind before I fell deep in to the sleep of my nap were these --

I am so thankful that God does not slumber, sleep or nap (Psalm 121:4). He does not doze off. He does not get tired. He is constantly watching over us. He does not take a break, put our life on the back burner, or lose track of His priorities. He does not dry up, get wrung out or deflate. He does not come and go. He lasts. He does not pause to catch his breath. He knows everything inside and out. He is never feeble or weak or faint (Isaiah 40:28). He is always strong, safe, and in control of everything. He always gets everything done that He desires to do –

and I was relieved. Greatly relieved.

Dear reader, even on days when we feel that we have nothing else to give, He comes in and gives us what we need to be strengthened again. Often times, He refreshes us by His Word, and other times He refreshes our physical needs in His own ways. Today, He knew just what I needed, I am convinced, and He provided me an opportunity (not often had!) to snuggle up with my daughter and get some sleep. It was a sweet sleep, and I am very thankful because I knew that I could sleep, because He never does.

Feeling like your marbles are all laying in the dish, dear reader? Ask the Lord to refresh and restore you. He will. He will give you just what you need, when you need it, and these things will be the straws that He puts in to place to hold what you need, so that you will be filled up again.