I'm Tired

Fatigue can take a toll on a lot of things but especially marriage.

How many times have you said to your husband or wife, "I'm tired" and really meant it! Whether it's the job or the kids, life can be exhausting. The honeymoon ends, the responsibilities increase and before you know it you feel like you are on a treadmill trying not to fall off!

We shouldn't be taken back by this but rather be sure we have realistic expectations. The increasing demands of life and marriage are not symptoms of problems but God-ordained opportunities for growth. Being tired is not nonspiritual but it can and often does make you vulnerable.

I had a friend tell me early on in my christian life when I really wanted to "grow in Jesus" that the best thing for my spiritual life was eight hours of sleep! I laughed but soon found out there was some real wisdom in what he said. Rest is an important part of life and that means physically as well as spiritually.

But who has time to rest!! That can be one of the best gifts you give to your husband or wife - or each other. It might take some creative planning but the results can be refreshing.

It also means we have to be realistic in our expectations of each other. When you ask, "How was your day?" you have to really mean it and be ready for the answer. It's not a time to determine who has the harder life but the need to empathize with each other and then determine how to mutually bear the burdens. "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2

There is something very spiritual and refreshing when you know your partner is carrying your burdens as well. There is often a unique work of God's Spirit that brings strength to the weary soul and even renewed strength to the body.

Christ came to bring rest to the weary and heavy laden. A rest in the midst of fatigue that comes not from us but from Christ in us.

Go rest in him and give rest as well.