This is Sometimes More Important Than Praying

A few days ago, my family and I returned home after a two-month long road trip. On the way back, my husband Kyle and I had our customary debriefing conversation per easing back in to normal life: What was your favorite part of the trip? What did you learn? What makes you excited to head back home? What makes you not so excited?

(We’re not really very formal about this—we just ask each other questions off the top of our heads while the kids go nuts in the back seats.)

We had just driven 9,000 miles up and down both the east and west coasts, with all three kids in tow and work in our backpacks. For 59 days, we did school from picnic tables at riverfront rest stops, worked and wrote from laptops balanced on our knees in the passenger seat, and spent countless evenings making new friends and reuniting with old.

*Photo Credit: Kyle Monahan, Creative Commons

It was a fantastic time. It was also exhausting.

So when Kyle asked me what I was most looking forward to about returning to normal home life in central Oregon, I paused for awhile. And I didn’t answer.

Because I had no answer. I couldn’t think straight, I was so tired.

That’s not to say I wasn’t looking forward to returning—I was. Never did I think I’d look forward to a more liturgical routine of laundry, cooking out of my own kitchen, and having more than one room for the five of us. Regular life sounded delicious.

So the fact that I couldn’t answer was a sign as to how exhausted I was. I honestly had no idea what sounded good. I didn’t know what I needed. I didn’t know what to do tomorrow. Next steps were a blur beyond crawling in to my familiar shower and then in to my familiar bed.

It reminded me of that time the prophet Elijah was running from Jezebel and was so exhausted that he crashed by a tree in the desert, ready to die. God didn’t infuse him supernaturally with needed energy to make it through the desert, nor did he ask Elijah to power through his exhaustion in spite of it all.

No—God sent an angel with food, drink, and some time to sleep. Basically, he provided Elijah with his concrete, felt needs. Then the text in 1 Kings says he was able to get back up and at ‘em after caring for his body for a few days.

Totally not comparing myself to Elijah here—really.

But I am struck by how important to God were Elijah’s basic needs of food, water, and rest; that these weren’t spiritually inferior to prayer or meditation. God completely acknowledges Elijah’s humanity and his need for nourishment and a serious nap.

And so it is with us, I think. I know I far too often fail at simple things like going to bed at a decent hour, going for regular runs, drinking plenty of water, and getting enough veggies on my plate. And I’d argue that those things matter to our well-being just as much as praise and worship, because we are more than spiritual beings. God hardwired us to need things to replenish our bodies.

So I shelved that deeper life question, sipped some water, and stared out the window as the Cascade mountains ambled by. And after getting the three kiddos to bed a few hours later, I relished in a long, hot shower and gave my good ol’ pillow a big hug. And then passed out.

After a few days, after sleeping in familiarity and eating some real food, I then cracked open my journal and scribbled out some of those deeper questions. What’s next? What do you have for me, God?

Pursue great things, yes, and do them to honor and worship your Creator. But don’t forget to take care of yourself in the process, sometimes in the simplest of ways. When you’re looking at a journey in front of you, perhaps your next step is to eat a big sandwich and chug some agua.

This is Sometimes More Important Than Praying is a post from: Storyline Blog