Maybe you're not a mom, but you still know what I'm talking about.
You may be a dad working two jobs to provide for your family.
You may be a student staying up late to keep your grades up and complete assignments.
You may be an involved community leader working to balance volunteering, events, work and family.
Or maybe you're all of these things combined.
Whatever your situation may be, life can be tiring. Any time we do something we use up energy, and it often seems like I don't have enough energy to do all the things that I like to do.
For me, it's struggling to find enough energy and time to care for my son and husband, study the scriptures, go to the temple, exercise, socialize, run errands, clean the house...you get the idea.
Now, I'm not blaming my circumstances for my lack of energy because I always have the choice to decide what I spend my time doing. No one is forcing me to take care of my son and husband or clean my house; I do the things I do because I choose to spend my energy in doing those things.
But sometimes, I get REALLY TIRED.
A few weeks ago, I had a day where I was exhausted, overwhelmed, and at the brink of tears.
I had the thought to read out of a book my mom got me before I had our son. Covenant Motherhood by Stephanie Dibb Sorenson. She focuses on how the roles and responsibilities we fill as mothers relate to the roles and responsibilities Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry.
What I read in that book was an answer to my prayers:
"Even Jesus Christ was weary at times. After He learned about the death of HIs beloved cousin, John the Baptist, Jesus sought solitude. 'When Jesus heard of it, He departed thence by ship into a desert place apart.' A mother of small children can understand that solitude is often hard to find. The people still 'followed him on foot out of the cities.' Jesus 'saw [the] great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them,' and He taught them and healed them. After awhile, His disciples tried to turn the crowd away, but Jesus said, 'They need not depart.' When we make the same concessions with our own children despite our weariness, the Savior will sustain us and send the Holy Ghost to consecrate our teachings for their good and for our strength."
Even Jesus Christ got tired as He went about teaching and doing good. He put others' needs before His own and served them which left His own desires for solitude and rest unmet.
I'd never really thought of Jesus Christ getting tired, but it is comforting to me that He knows what it feels like to be tired after a long day of caring for others, working, studying, volunteering or whatever we do each day. I know that He is there to sustain and support me as I continue to follow His example of unselfish service.
I hope that this touched you in some way and gave you the courage to continue one day at a time and remember that the work you do to help others, in whatever capacity it may be, is important.
