Springs in My Shoes

Wednesday, March 12, 2014 Posted by Katie

I may have “sprung” forward.

I may be looking for opportunities to Spring Clean and get ready for Spring Planting.

But I’ll be honest. I have NOT had a spring in my step lately. Not at all. Instead, I have been walking around feeling like I am trudging through mud.

No matter how much sleep I have had, I wake up tired.

No matter how busy or lazy my day, I walk through it tired.

Almost as soon as I get my kids in bed and shut off their light, I am tempted to (and sometimes do) climb into my own bed, pull the covers up and call it a “day”.

This chick ain’t springing anywhere.

And so, I am getting back to basics with my health. More water. MANY more vegetables. More iron. Basics.

I think we can all get spiritually tiiiiired, too. Can I get an amen? I sure did about three years ago. That’s when I retired from full-time youth ministry. I came to this decision for several reasons, though my exhaustion spoke pretty loudly in favor of a step back.

People used to ask me, “What hours do you work?” And I would respond, as you can image, “All of them.” There is no “off” time in ministry. Not really. And so with the arrival of my second son, and the shifting winds of change blowing through my home, I decided it was time to retire. At least for the foreseeable future.

I have happily spent the last few years getting back to basics. I get to spend time reading my Bible for me...not necessarily in preparation for leading a study. There is a BIG difference, and enormous freedom in this. I get to worship with my family (and actually sit next to them) and not worry about all the necessary intricacies of leading the service. I get to explore prayer that is just between God and me.

You might say, “But Katie, could you not have done most of those things while you were a Youth Minister?”

Sure, I could have.

But I got tired. Super tired. And somewhere in my exhaustion, I lost my focus on the basics.

The basics of our faith are as primary to us as water and good nutrition. If we don’t have it, we will become weary. We will lack the fuel to do what we are called to do.

So, for those of you who recognize Lent, I’m right there with ya. Let us use this time to re-focus on the basics, and get some REST.

As Easter approaches, may your heart, therefore, feel a little more spring in its step.

Amen.