A Prayer for the One Who's Exhausted from Holding it All Together
By Rachel Wojo
Bible Reading:
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot... a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance." - Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 NIV
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Some years and months you never forget. May 2009 is one of mine. In the same thirty days, I had a newborn, a high school graduate, and a husband finishing his master's degree. I was running on caffeine and grace, and some days I wasn't sure which one was doing more work.
The day of the combined graduation party, I stood in my kitchen surrounded by food I'd prepared and relatives who'd traveled in to celebrate. My sister-in-law held my sweet baby Tarah, and I was grateful because a party doesn't change a newborn's schedule. At some point, I stopped moving and just stood there. I remember thinking something close to a prayer: Thank You, Lord, for enough energy for this day.
I didn’t think about the week. I couldn’t fathom the last month. All I was grateful for was the day.
Late that night, when everyone had gone, and the house was quiet again, I sat down and felt the whole month arrive at once. Relief flooded my heart, but there was also a beautiful joy in having pushed through and given it my all.
If your May is looking like that, you already know what I mean. Graduations, weddings, showers, and end-of-year events make the calendar stack up fast.
Many of us are familiar with Solomon’s famous Ecclesiastes 3 passage, but he wrote this book from the far side of a life that had demanded everything from him at one point or another. He'd already built cities and governed kingdoms. He had buried people he loved. When he wrote that every activity under the heavens has its appointed time, he wasn't offering comfort from a distance. He was writing from inside it.
That word translated "time" in verse 1 is the Hebrew word eth. It means an appointed time, something set and known in advance. A time to be born. A time to plant. A time to dance. Everything has a designated entry on the calendar or at least a timeslot.
The season you are in right now was not a surprise to God. He saw the stacked calendar, the short nights, the food you prepared, and the people you hosted. He saw what it cost you. And He set this season in place, knowing exactly what it would require.
That also means He set its end.
I'm reminding myself of this as I write it, too. The exhaustion you feel right now is not a sign that something has gone wrong. Some seasons are just full.
Just a reminder, Friend, that God is still in control and He will carry you through.
Pray with me?
Let's Pray:
Heavenly Father,
I'm coming to You today, worn out. The things filling my days aren't bad things. Some of them are things I've prayed for, and You’ve graciously given. But I'm tired, and the most words I can find right now are the ones I whispered at a graduation party years ago: thank you for enough for today.
Help me trust that You saw this season before I was living it. You set it in place, and You set its limits. When I feel like I'm barely keeping everything going, remind me that You are keeping me. When the house finally gets quiet, and I sit down and feel it all at once, let that be the moment I rest in You instead of just collapsing.
Thank You that the seasons change. Thank You that You appointed a time for rest and a time for dancing. Help me keep going with open hands until this day or season shifts.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
If you're looking for a place to bring your weary heart to God and anchor it in His promises, my prayer journal Praying the Promises of God: 52 Week Guided Journal was made for seasons like this one. Find it at promisesprayerjournal.com. Until next time, remember: God sees you, hears you, and He knows your needs.
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Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/KatarzynaBialasiewicz
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