I have not felt this tired in a very long time. And what a perfect Sunday afternoon to do soemthing about it. First, some context. I never realized how much time and effort goes into taking on a career change. My new job is awesome; I still believe this is one of the best career moves I've ever made! But there is so much "new" to learn, and do, and to accomplish this, I find myself at work most mornings long before I ever went to work at the old place. This past week would be such an example. And wait til Monday morning; I have to be at work for 7 a.m. Man, that is early.
Surely, Deacon Mike, you slept in on Saturday. Nope. I had to deliver a generator to the repair shop by 8:30 a.m. so we were on the road before 8. I also have been struggling with grass cutting for weeks; in part because of the heavy rains of July and when the rains stopped, my schedule and something called the Olympics seemed to get in the way. So yesterday, I dutifully cut grass, from noon to 6 p.m. Did I mention, Saturday was crazy hot with high humidity and little to no shade or breeze. Sounds like a great evening to go to bed early; well, I stayed up to watch the Olympics.
Moving forward to Sunday we start with a 4:30 wake up call; not on purpose mind you, but it just happened. Failing to fall back to sleep, I left the house at 6 a.m. to be present for MHT's first Mass of this beautiful Sunday. I assisted both the 7 and the 9 and, for good measure, did a little altar serving training after. It turned out to be a long morning that was capped off by a nice lunch date with my daughter. She is on her way back home right now and my wife is on a girls weekend with her mom over in Texas, so Sunday afternoon finds me home alone, the grass cut, the Olympics on TV and my eyelids getting heavy.
What do we do with our real life exhaustion? I'm not talking about the simple things; taking a nap, vegging on the couch, relaxing; no how does this enter into our relationship with God on the daily or weekly journeys we take with Him? First, I acknowledge God's hand in my career job and I give Him praise for the early mornings and the late afternoons. I remind myself of the millions of brothers and sisters here in our own country who would like a tough job right about now. And I remind myself about my brother and sister in another part of the world that labors all day long to make a dollar or two a day. I heard one such example just a few weeks ago at Mass. I offer prayers this Sunday for the gift of family and for their safety and enjoyment while out of town. I remind myself of family members long gone and family members who just don't seem to keep in touch. I think about all the families I know, including some I have counseled, that aren't much of a family at all. And I remind myself that both my immediate family and the larger family of man is a gift from God and we must nuture and support each other.
On this Sunday, having been strengthened by the Eucharist and the Word of God, which today was part of the Bread of Life discourse, I thank God for the gift of faith, the gift of Church and the gift of His son, who came to save me, and you too! I'm thinking now how I am fortunate to be able to relax a little this Sunday and I plan on using some of this relaxation to immerse myself in Scripture, some EWTN programmimg(yes, even if the Olympics are on) and in prayer. But I can tell with some certitude, there is a nap lurking somewhere in the mix of the reminder of this Sunday! Stick a fork in me, I'm done for now. But I'm not done give God the glory today, and everyday; and I know He is not done with me either!!
No comments:
Post a Comment