I apologize for the missing 52 Ways post last week!

Then, the next two Mondays we’ll pause again for a 10 Day series I’m sharing with you.

Details will come later in the week, but I think you’ll like it…after all, it’s on FOOD.  No worries, we’ll eventually catch up, or move a little into January in order to savor the holidays.

But for today, let’s reflect on taking time….

Week #39  Take time, Give time to recover slowly

I’m going to share first in the world of the ideal.   Why not?  It’s great to imagine how things might be.

Ideally, when we experience major shifts in our lives, we give ourselves permission to pause.  To rest.

Ideally, when a baby is born, a loved one is lost, when we are seriously ill, or find ourselves somehow living life much differently than before, we sound the alarm…

…share the burden with others, cry on a shoulder, and tend to our physical, spiritual, emotional needs.

Ideally.

I find instead, most of us do not practice these steps as often as we should — me included.  Perhaps we give in to the pressure that healing has a time limit, a cap of sorts, this far and no more.

Maybe we don’t understand the depth of our need, for time to process what just happened.

Some of us have been burned by negative responses to raw emotions laid out on the table.  A why can’t you pull yourself together?  question maybe unspoken, but communicated in looks from those close by, or in how they simply distance themselves from our pain.

If you’ve lived a bit of life, it’s safe to say you’ve probably been on both sides, either walking in the valley of difficulty or watching, not always knowing how to respond.

I get it.  I understand both sides.

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.  Psalm 62:1

He gives strength to the weary, and increases the power of the weak. Isaiah 40:29

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest  Matthew 11:28

ACTION PLAN:

For my sister shouldering hardship – please take time to recover.  Rest in huge chunks or in bits and pieces, but create space in the schedule, pause a few responsibilities and REST.

You’ll have to say NO (or have others do it for you), but this too is okay sometimes, even necessary.  Eventually, you’ll be back on your feet, tending and caring…it won’t be this way forever.

For those of us onlookers – give the gift of time to recover.  As much as possible, allow space for a return to normalcy.  Most importantly, do not stay silent.

If you don’t know what to say, what words would offer hope…often a simple I’m so sorry, and I’m here is enough.  Silence only communicates distance, which is hardly ever helpful.

MORE TO READ:  the practice of {convalesce}