Who am I? A wife for almost 40 years. A mom for over 36 years. A sister and a friend, of course. Each of these help describe me. But, even more, I have been a Christian since accepting Him as my Savior when I was 12 years old and, this truth defines each area of my life. I have enjoyed some mountain top experiences but have been through some very deep valleys as well. Valleys of incredible grief and even pits of depression. However, most of my days are ordinary, routine kind of days. But in every one of my days, God has been faithful. He has walked with me whatever the day. He strengthens, comforts, encourages and blesses me with life "most abundant."

A favorite life verse: The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10

Why do I write? Though not quite as private as my dad, I am definitely my father's daughter. I find it difficult to share. And to let others in. But I do love to write. I love to put words into sentences and sentences in paragraphs that help express my thoughts. I hope my words help me share my heart. Share the life that God has given me and all that He has done for me and through me. I write with the hope of giving Him at least a bit of the glory He is due.

A verse to guide my writing: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. I Peter 1:7

I’m So Tired – What Might It Mean?

Posted on By jennifer

I begin most of my mornings leisurely enjoying a cup of coffee with my husband before heading
upstairs for my devotions.  It is one of the small pleasures of this phase of life – for which I am grateful and that I am enjoying.  But until just several months ago, I was working and, before 8:00, I would interact with staff, parents, students of all ages and several service providers.  I greeted people with, “Good morning!  How are you?”….and so, so often the standard answer was, “Tired.”

But you’ve just started….haven’t even been out of bed that long!?  Why does it seem everyone is always tired?  I know there are plenty of answers to that question – situations, circumstances, etc. that leave us tired.  Even when we get out of bed. The answers could probably be discussed in a blog post for hours – but this is Five Minute Friday, so these are just a couple of my thoughts.

GO –

I believe that for many being tired is synonymous with being busy.  And being busy is a badge worn with honor these days.  So, if we are tired, we must be busy and, in some way, that must mean, we are productive, hard-working people.  Exhaustion proves it.  But, could it be a constant state of tiredness is a symptom of poor planning, misplaced priorities, or little to no self-care…perhaps a jumble of all three?

No doubt, there are days when we are the “slave” to our schedule rather than the reverse.  Emergencies happen, but these days should be the exception and not the rule. Even when best-arranged priorities seem thrown off balance, there can (and should) be adequate time for rest and for sleep.  Sleep is as necessary as eating and bathing and as crucial as our time spent in prayer and Bible reading.  Plan for it all.  Here are three reasons why I think it is important.

One – God expects it.  We are His temple. The dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.  Many directions and principles are given for taking care of the temple.  Lack of sleep not only runs us down but negatively affects our bodies – this temple.

Two – Jesus was our example.  He slept.  After long days full of ministering, He slept.  Even during storms, when the needs of others seemed paramount, He slept.  I know there are many applications in that account but certainly, if Jesus chose to sleep before serving, meeting needs and teaching His disciples, there is a lesson there as well.

Three – There are promises to those who will put their cares away, give their worries to Him and will lay down to sleep.  Christ offers sweet sleep.  And, no doubt, renewed energy to handle the tasks for the new day ahead.

STOP –

Yes.  There are moms of newborns and little ones.  Caregivers – to spouses, aging parents, special need children, and many others.  There are single moms working full-time and then putting themselves through school in the hours leftover.  Some suffer chronic illness or other physical ailments.  All that deprive them of necessary sleep.  I can attest to many of these situations myself.  And I believe in these times, God can take our little sleep and give us the strength that we need.  I pray that He does.  However, for most of us who regularly hear ourselves saying, “I’m so tired,” it just might be a red-flag that we are not sleeping as we should.  Just a thought.

 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows:
 for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
Psalm 127:2

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Comments (7)

  1. This is so good! As you say there are seasons of life where there are good reasons why we can't get enough sleep, but we're looking in the wrong place if we're expecting our busyness and resulting tiredness to validate us and make us feel worthwhile.

  2. Thank you, Jennifer, for referencing the Lord and how he found rest. We need to be more intentional about caring for our temples and that is so challenging. We are not guaranteed tomorrow, so why do we put so much energy in the toil of life when we can make time to rest!

  3. i enjoyed your post jennifer. as you said, there are so many reasons for tired! some come from not planning well, some come from trying to jam too much into too small a period of time…then we wonder why we are tired!it's a little nutty for us to try to get all that work done in the little time we have. that overachieving we try to do for the praise of "men" can often get us into trouble for sure! but of course there are all kinds of reasons for tired. those emotional reasons get me often…especially when going thro' sad seasons of life. learning to rest and find our ultimate rest in Jesus rather than our accomplishments is comforting…but takes awhile to learn.

  4. i enjoyed your post jennifer. as you said, there are so many reasons for tired! some come from not planning well, some come from trying to jam too much into too small a period of time…then we wonder why we are tired!it's a little nutty for us to try to get all that work done in the little time we have. that overachieving we try to do for the praise of "men" can often get us into trouble for sure! but of course there are all kinds of reasons for tired. those emotional reasons get me often…especially when going thro' sad seasons of life. learning to rest and find our ultimate rest in Jesus rather than our accomplishments is comforting…but takes awhile to learn.

  5. Great words of wisdom, Jennifer! God has been challenging me to be more intentional about getting more sleep. The teen years in our children's lives seem to be busy years too. So much to do, so little time. And yet, if I want rest I've discovered I need to make sure I'm saying yes to the most important things and no to the less important things. And, as you said, entire blog posts could be written about this whole topic!

    Loved your words here!

  6. Oooh, I love your thoughts on this topic. This idea that tired equates to busy… and therefore it is expected… like, as a badge of honor. (sigh)… I like that Jesus gave us an example to rest. Be still and know that {he} is God!!!

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