Listening to the Coach

"Fatigue makes cowards of us all." ~ Coach Vince Lombardi

Vince Lombardi said it.

I'm here to tell you he was right.

When I'm tired, I'm scared.

Now, you may be wondering why I'm not quoting Scripture or someone with biblical authority. Well, I figure God can use all sorts of people to talk sense into us. He's God, isn't he? The Creator of so many wonderfully different, brilliant people.

And that includes football coaches.

Besides, Wise Guy was the one who first quoted Lombardi's wisdom to me--and he's reminded me of it many times--and as recently as last week.

I admit it: I am an exhausted coward.

Life has been busy, busy, busy in my little corner of the world. I'm up late, up early, running, running, running. Never finishing the To Do list.

I'm not complaining--not really. I'm just telling you what's causing the complete physical exhaustion. Throw in a couple migraines, some other recurrent physical problems ... and you've got one tired woman.

And there's no pause button on my life. No way to slow things down so I can rest up and prepare for tomorrow. Nope--tomorrow's already here and I'm still working on yesterday's list.

You know the one thing that gets overlooked in all this madness?

My relationship with God.

I tend to say, "I'll be with you in just a second"--and then I make another phone call. I answer another e-mail, post another blog entry, empty the sink of the dirty dishes, throw another load of laundry in ... you know, life.

And before I know it, I'm exhausted and overwhelmed--feeling a bit scared--and realizing I need to reconnect with God.

It's the only way to find firm ground again. It's the only way to truly find rest for my soul.

Just Thinking Out Loud: Jesus said, "Come unto me all you who were weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest." (Matt. 11:28) I think he knew that fatigue makes cowards of us all. I think he knew how debilitating exhaustion is. And I think he knew he was the answer to our exhaustion. He is where we find rest. Naps are nice, sure. But I find mine are often interrupted by phone calls or someone ringing my doorbell. The question is why do I let so many other things interrupt my relationship with God?