A Holiday BURNOUT Warning Sign

We’re headed into the annual season of holiday joy and OVERWHELM. Reminds me of a comment I heard:

“My doctor says I must take a day off each week to rest. He says that if I don’t, I’ll almost certainly experience total physical and emotional exhaustion,” shared a talented youth worker friend of mine. “But I don’t see how I can manage that. I just don’t have time to take off.”

Perhaps you identify with this caring and overworked professional. (Maybe you’re a tired mommy, wife, volunteer, nurse, pastor, CEO, employee, care-giver, writer, speaker, all around loving person!) Many of us believe that we don’t have time to rest and relax. One of the burnout warning signs is the attitude that “I’ve got to keep going. I can’t stop now. I’m on a roll. I can do it. I don’t need to rest. I can make it through.” But if you and I do not pace ourselves; if we do not stop to rest, eventually we will burnout. The risk is great.

God rested after he completed the seventh day of creation. (Genesis 2:2-3) He rested not because he was tired, but to set an example for us. Stopping to rest is acceptable with God. It does not make us any less valuable or worthwhile to admit that we need to cease working and creating to rest. God loves us when we work, when we rest, and when we play.

What would “rest” look and be like to you? I’m asking myself this question. (And in fact, I’m planning a get-away vacation with my husband in December. I just may stop to dangle my feet in the water again like I did last June in Oak Creek in Sedona. Ahhh.) How would you answer this question for yourself?

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