Many of you know that on Monday, August 22, I ended up in the Emergency Room with a 4.9 mm kidney stone which they thought I would pass. I also ended up with a kidney infection because my left kidney was blocked by the stone and the CRNP forgot to give me a prescription for an antibiotic. (By the time I realized she hadn’t given it to me, all the drug stores were closed.) Two miserable days later, my Dr. hustled me into the hospital to insert a stent to drain the kidney, kept me overnight to give me antibiotics intravenously, then sent me home to recover. The fun was just beginning! The stent puts pressure on the kidney/bladder which has kept me close to home ever since.

What you don’t know is that the previous week, I’d noticed I was feeling rather stressed. I’d even thought, “I feel like I need a rest.” I was also having a lot of pain, a fibromyalgia flare─usually related to stress. On Saturday morning when I bent over to pick up my purse, my lower back went into spasms (another stress symptom), and I couldn’t stand up. In a partially bent-over position, I backed up and managed to flop down on our bed. I walked slowly and slightly stooped for the rest of the day and didn’t attend our grandson’s football scrimmage or church on Sunday. Sitting on a bleacher or a church pew didn’t sound like good options.

When I asked the Lord what this was all about, I felt prompted to look at our calendar. I realized that four out of the previous six weekends, we’d been gone at least part if not all of the weekend─Sundays especially being the day I try to rest. Although I’m taking a break from counseling to finish my book, I’ve been pushing hard on that. When it comes to writing, I’m my own boss, and Donn has commented more than once that my boss is a slave driver! I began to understand why I felt like I needed a rest.

I’ve had lots of time to evaluate my situation over the past couple weeks of enforced rest, and I heard in my spirit, “Let up on the throttle.” It was the title of a Daily Bread devotional I’d saved years ago. The author* talked about WW I planes that were not equipped with throttles for slowing down or speeding up. He said constant full speed ahead took its toll on the engines. When throttles were added, these instructions came with them: “Takeoff power (full power) may be used for only a maximum of five minutes.” Bob Griffin in his book, Cleared For Takeoff said, “The pilot was instructed to back off from full power as soon as possible. Trouble was ahead for those who ignored the warning.”

Are you getting the picture? The author says, “God did not create us to run at full speed all the time. We may race for a while with open throttle through our Christian lives, packing our time with one activity after another, but if we don’t slow down occasionally we are headed for burnout or a crash landing.” He’s so right. Although there have been unpleasant, painful aspects of the “rest” God has provided, my blood pressure is down, my fibromyalgia and TMJ symptoms are gone, and I feel rested and relaxed. In addition, the less desirable aspects of my rest have given me a renewed commitment to “Let up on the throttle,” to live life at a slower pace.

How about you? Are you running at full speed ahead? Do you need to let up on the throttle? Jesus said, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30.

Father, show us how to rest and relax in ways that will keep us from burning out or having a crash landing. Help us tune in to what our spirits, souls, and bodies are saying to us about their need for rest. Amen.

*Only the author’s initials, DCE, are listed on the Daily Bread devotional I saved.