How to Finish Strong When Exhaustion is Real
Breakfast wasn’t prepared until after 8am. My head is a jumbled mess of forgotten commitments. My purse was curiously left behind as I left on an errand one day, my phone on another, and I think to myself, “I am a mess!”
Does anyone else struggle this time of year? Is anyone else wrapping up a season of constant commitment?
My daughter celebrated with over 1,300 peers a few weeks ago, a tradition of eating and dancing we refer to affectionately as high school prom. As a volunteer, I helped at the event until 12:30am. (P.S. You just don’t recover in your 40’s the same way you used to!)
This tradition of gathering and celebrating to remember is nothing new. In fact, remembrances of feasting and dancing mark most special occasions from ancient times until now. Weddings, holidays, birthdays, homecomings, proms, as well as more somber feasts like funerals, all possess the same characteristics of preparation, celebration, and exhaustion—Mother’s Day included.
I must admit now that we are on the other side of Easter (and for some, prom) we still find ourselves in the midst of the spring schedule crunch of year end parties, proms, and graduations. I regret to admit weariness continues amidst the joys.
As I preview the upcoming squares in my planner, however, I spy some empty spaces as if a crack of light shines in the distance. I am confident we are all in desperate need for an upcoming summer sabbath, so I’m reflecting on these questions today:
How can I finish the school year strong?
How can I enter into a restful summer that allows for an exhale of restoration and adventure?
How can I better prepare for the fall without wanting to give up right now?
The answer for me lies in one liturgical phrase replaying in my head like a broken record:
Keep the feast.
What does that mean? In certain denominations, once the sacraments of bread and wine representing Jesus’s body and blood have been prayed over, the pastor or priest introduces holy communion with these words,
“Jesus, our Passover lamb has been sacrificed for us; therefore, let us keep the feast."
This phrase is based on I Corinthians 5:7-8, where Paul in his letter to the church in Corinth is instructing the believers how they should live in light of the resurrection.
As we journey on in faith, and continue to navigate what is the end-of-school craziness, let’s remember the feasting Paul refers to does not imply exhaustive pleasure nor indulgent gluttony. He is reminding us that in light of the resurrection we must continue to remember what Jesus died to accomplish, so that we can walk through this life as a new creation, not slaves to our former patterns.
Let’s not leave the truth of what the cross accomplished for us behind, but carry it forward as the source of freedom, strength, and hope in months ahead.
Here are three ways to keep the feast in your personal life as you enter summer.
Gather
Just because you feel weary, don’t stop gathering. Feasting of any kind falls short if we are not connecting in community. Fellowship and feasting are co-dependent upon one another, so when we pull away in order re-charge, sometimes we grow hesitant to enter back in to community.
Remind yourself you were meant to persevere alongside others, in the hurried and slow months.
Delight
Delight encompasses more to me than mere joy; delight embodies anticipation. As we keep the feast for the future, we are given the opportunity to anticipate God’s consistent and continued provision by feasting upon His promises in His Word.
If you are in a season of questioning how God will move and make a way in the future, allow both feasting in the Word and in the breaking of bread to draw your heart into deeper dependence by delighting not in what God is or isn’t doing, but in who He is and how He currently provides for you.
Remember
Every feast in biblical times was ordained as a time to remember God’s faithfulness.
One of my favorite ways to remember is to begin the morning with reading past journal entries, previous prayer requests, or getting lost in old pictures. It is sure to encourage your heart at how much God has done and given you in your life even when your heart did not understand.
As the rushed months linger and slower months arrive on the horizon, allow your heart to give praise for how God has brought you previous challenges and will continue to see you through yet another one.
Friends, may we not lose sight of the resurrection. May we find rest and replenishment in the months ahead. May we continue to keep the feast with our Creator and with one another.