“Come off by yourselves; let’s take a break and get a little rest.”
~ Mark 6:31, The Message Bible
I can’t even imagine the kind of emotional drain Jesus went through on a daily basis, but I can relate to the rest of that verse when it says, “For there was constant coming and going. They didn’t even have time to eat.”
Doesn’t this sound just like parenting young children? Every time I need to get some rest or work done, they see me or find me. I am rarely alone, barely even have time to cook my own food, lest they want me to make some for them too.
Right this moment, they are racing through the this very room on little bare feet, squealing “Get him” as they chase each other. Because it doesn’t matter what room I am in, that is the most desirable room in which to play tag or wrestle or throw the ball. And they can be playing quietly or reading until I start to work or write or concentrate. I don’t know how but they can sense it.
And my reaction is usually less than compassionate (to say the least). I often pick up my computer, stalk off into yet another room, while loudly grumbling about how “I can’t even do one thing without being interrupted” or “I can’t even hear myself think”!
Because I have given them my entire day, thus far, making meals, picking clothes out, helping them groom themselves, homeschooling them, answering questions, taxiing them around town…so why, oh why, can I not have a few moments to type out some words on a white screen to communicate with the outside world.
But this is because I’m not Jesus.
When Jesus saw the crowd encroaching on His time of rest, He wasn’t angry.
“At the sight of them, his heart broke – like sheep with no shepherd they were.”
Instead of seeing an interruption, Jesus saw an opportunity. He saw the heartbreak, the pain, the illness, the loss, and He knew that He was the only answer. And He knew that His time on earth was short.
In the same way, time with our children is fleeting…even though it feels interminable. They will only be dependent on us for a time…even though it feels like they’ll never be gone. Before I know it, they won’t be here expecting me to make them food or needing me to tie their shoes. In time they’ll expect to hang with their friends more than me. One day they’ll have a car, and I won’t be the one safely driving them from gig to gig.
So seeing them in their need should soften, maybe even break, my heart. Knowing that I am shepherding them. As a mom, that is my job. And my privilege.
Even though I have all these other jobs rolling around, my number one job is to be their mom, their shepherd, their heart holder, their shoulder for tears, their laughter carrier. Until…well, until forever. Because one day they may not live here, but I know my hope and desire is that they will always need those things from me, it’ll just take a different form.
The same way Jesus “went right to work teaching them,” I will also. Even in heartache. Even in disappointment. Even in busyness of the days.
That doesn’t mean we don’t need to take time for rest. I mean, remember the time that Jesus slept in a boat but was interrupted by the disciples mid-REM sleep (which basically makes the disciples akin to newborn babies). Jesus took the chance to rest whenever He could. Including time away to be with God, to pray, to hear from His Father. We must as well.
We must take any and every chance to get away with God and be refreshed in Him. Everything we need is found in the presence of God. Maybe your Mount of Transfiguration isn’t an actual prayer closet; maybe it’s your car between kids pick ups or the shower or (let’s be real, real here) the toilet. We can’t all wake up hours and hours early, and even when we do, sometimes a little copycat wakes up early with us and we have our prayer times with another tiny body sitting in our laps. But God will show up wherever we are. He promises that.
If you will seek Him wholly, even in the barely-there moments, He can refresh you. Then like Jesus stepped down from the mountains to crowds of people, when you step out of the shower to a slew of “mommy-mommy”’s, you will have the anointing of God in you to take that deep breath and feel the warm embrace of the Father so that you can give a warm embrace to your little ones.
And you will find the opportunities in the midst of the interruptions.
I love The Message Bible. It illuminates familiar scriptures in a new way and clarifies difficult-to-understand scriptures in modern terms. I highly recommend it. You can get your own copy here.
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