Confessions of a missionary wife…the Broom Bush

This week I’ve been thinking a lot about Elijah. Here’s the passage that stuck out to me:

1 Kings 19:4-7
He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” ⁵ Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.

All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” ⁶ He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.

⁷ The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.”

As Ben told our Bible study this week, the last nine months have been the busiest of our whole career as missionaries. Ben has been juggling several jobs and there just doesn’t seem to be time in a day to complete everything that needs doing for our multilanguage project. As soon as a funding report is done, the next one looms, etc. There is still one more translation workshop to go before Christmas and I know I need to start buying food and dehydrating vegetables in preparation. I just haven’t found the motivation to get moving on that yet.

I started thinking about Elijah because there comes a time when we have to step back, even from ministry activities and REST.

A couple of weeks ago, I started doing an online bible study with friends in the U.S. We’re reading a book called “Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World,” by Joanna Weaver. When I really thought about where I was emotionally/spiritually/physically after this last village stay, I would have to admit that in my tired state, I’ve let myself believe some of these lies that Weaver talks about in her book, especially the one “I can do it all myself.”  I suppose it’s a matter of pride to be reluctant to admit to myself or others that I’m not doing that great.

So for this week, I’m ‘taking it easy.’ I am taking naps when the twins sleep every day and trying to go to bed at a reasonable time. I’m sitting in the yard right now watching Jacob dig in his sandbox when I *could* be washing dishes or hanging up laundry. Dinner’s in the crockpot (well most of it!) and I’m soaking up some much needed vitamin D. Every day I feel a little bit more rested and less like I’m teetering on that edge of burnout.

Tags: burnout, Elijah, rest