PTO

 When I was a teacher, we were allowed PTO (personal time off). Many companies have this perk. It means you don't have to tell anyone why you want off for the day - you can take the day off and still get paid. I really didn't use it often because I'm a little bit of a workaholic, and I LOVED my job! 

This weekend, I got hit with several things all at once. It seemed like overwhelm wanted to suck my soul into that dark vacuum of depression. Honestly, I just wanted to breathe a little bit. I wanted to get out for a day, an hour, a minute! So, I started thinking of how I used to have PTO. I kind of missed it for a little bit. :-)

Sometimes, there isn't a break, right? Even if we have a sitter or make other accommodations, we are never really "off" because we have to be available. I was praying about all that and asking God to lead me to someone (or He could just bring them here and drop them off for me!) that I could trust leaving my son with. I don't mind paying for someone to sit with him. I whispered mostly under my breath, Lord, I'm tired.

But then I thought about the familiar passage in Isaiah 40. Haven't you heard? Don't you know? God, the Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth - never grows faint (weak) nor is weary....

Never grows faint or weak... grows there would indicate something that occurs over time. Right? Don't we grow weary over the months, days, weeks... Life starts wearing on us and wearing us down until we just run out of strength. Why did this encourage me? Because no matter how long God carries us, our troubles, our griefs, our pains, our losses - He never gets tired of it.

I was so overcome with gratitude. It can feel like people “get tired” of our situations. At first, right after my son's accident, so many reached out. Slowly, over time, it became the new normal. They slowly went on with their lives, and we are so grateful when they stop for a second here or there to check to see if we are still breathing. Lol. But God doesn't adjust to our new normals - He's just with us, continuing to carry our weary souls on down time's road. I love that about God.

Today, I will encourage myself by reminding myself that He is still carrying me. He won't take a break, won't heave a weary sigh, won't look the other way. He's got me no matter what the day brings. My goal, then, is to learn how to rest in His arms. That is my personal assignment for today as I trust Him for one more day. Will you join me?

Today is a good day to peace out! Check out my 31-day devotional on Kindle or in Print!

You can also get the eBook in my shop at BuyMeACoffee!