BE INTENTIONAL ABOUT REST

Many of the movies we watch have painted an unconscious narrative that you must encounter danger when rescuing others. While you indeed face the prospect of harm, it must not become the standard. One unspoken rule of emergency response services, whether search and rescue or medical services is to ensure that ‘the rescuer does not also become a victim.’

Now as simple as this sounds, if you break an arm or leg while rescuing another in the same predicament, it becomes a loss to them, the rescue mission and to yourself. This is a reason why Jesus told the disciples “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.”(Mark 6:31)

I know that sometimes the crowd may be cheering you on to keep going or the system carefully designed to keep you coming back. But don’t be deceived, ‘you are only as helpful as your strength allows.’ Beloved, you must learn to take care of yourself: physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. In a very literal sense, ensure you have adequate rest, exercise, eat healthy, and have a healthy social life etc. If you are not careful, you will run yourself into the ground, and that achieves no real purpose.

Of course heaven will be ready to welcome you, but what about the lives your presence was meant to impact?

#sly