One of the greatest travesties of the modern world is our incessant need to always be on. We’re told that we must work hard and work often.
Most of the time, we’re chided for taking time off, going on vacation, or spending time with family.
You’ll hear the screams of the uninformed telling you that you’re wasting your time. That you could be more productive.
Yeah, sure… That’s great.
But I’m here to tell you something. Something very few people are willing to admit.
We need time to restore ourselves. We need time to rest. We need time to recover.
And the items listed above are all ways to recover. Don’t feel guilty about doing something that brings you back to full strength.
Why We Need Time To Recover
In the 15 years my wife and I helped lead youth, we put in a lot of time and effort. We knew how valuable the students were. We knew they needed people to be there for them.
We did this well. We showed up. We integrated ourselves into their lives. We became like family.
They knew we cared. And they knew there was someone who cared for them even more than we did.
Yet we failed in a certain regard.
Pam and I rarely took the time to recover from everything that we put into the youth group. We were all about showing up and being present, not taking a break and recovering from the brutal pace of youth ministry.
Honestly, in the end, I think we were burned out. We’d put so much in without taking time out for ourselves.
Looking back, I see this. I see where we needed time to recover and heal ourselves.
It’s what we’ve been doing for close to a year.
After leaving our church, we were invited to another church where we could rest and recover. We could come in on Sunday morning, hear the message, and leave.
This time in our lives has been a time of recovery.
I liken this to someone who exercises.
As you’re pumping iron (I love that phrase for some reason, it sounds so cool and 80’s), you’re damaging your muscles. Each repetition is breaking apart muscle. There’s tears and rips.
This exercise is also building muscles. But only if you take time off to recover.
That’s why you see people working on their arms and abs one day and then legs the next. They’re giving portions of their body rest so it can recover.
And we need it. We need that time to recover.
What To Do After Recovery
Recovery is a season. It allows us to recharge and become the men and women of God that we were meant to be.
That doesn’t mean recovery is the end. No, not at all.
Rather, we recover so we can go about work that matters.
After we’ve rested and recharged, it’s time to get back in the game. It’s time to begin working the “muscles.”
Rest, restore, recover. Then put your foot back in the game.
That’s where I’m at right now. I’ve sat on the bench, regaining my strength. I want to get back into the game.
Now, it’s time to find out where I belong again.
Is it that time for you as well? Have you rested long enough?
Get back out there and show them what you’re made of!
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