Then was going to head for brunch and have some waffles. After that I was going to stop by Lego League and see my kids compete! But instead of doing any of that...I woke up feeling rather yuck! I was a little nauseated, but mostly I felt as though I could pass out. I've been known to do that. The idea of going to a race and passing out seemed like it would earn me a little bit more attention than I found necessary today! So back to bed I went.
Which, was good because I soon realized I had caught the stomach bug and spent the day in bed!! As with most things...I found a life lesson. I began to think about being empty but going through the motions. How many times do I go through the motions in my spiritual walk but feel empty? How many days do I get up and teach but feel empty?
So many times we haven't been spiritually fed enough to compensate for how much we've poured out. In this case we are empty and going through the motions...I can say, that if I would have stopped going through the motions, I would have continued to feel sick. Just like in my spiritual walk, if I completely stopped spending time with Him and other believers I would feel even worse. This idea of going through the motions on empty led me to think about how necessary it is to continually feed our souls. I had to sip on water and eat ice. Later in the night, I became so thirsty I couldn't get enough water. At some point in our spiritual journey, we will become so thirsty we will continually consume him!
Besides thinking about this in my spiritual walk, I thought about it as a teacher. Sometimes the demands of our job drain us and leave us on empty. We become emotionally, physically, and mentally exhausted. We can't stop going through the motions just because we are depleted. In fact, continuing to go through the motions might lead us to a child who will fill us up again. If we stopped doing our job, we would feel terrible for other reasons. Instead...we have to push through and continually go through the motions.
Now, it's also important to take time to rest and recoup. I had to make myself consume liquids. We cannot give when we have nothing left in us. This goes for both our spiritual life and our teaching world. What are you doing to feed yourself and give yourself energy to continue on? Taking time to pray before work? Spending a little extra time reading your Bible? Taking your plan time to make sure you get things done? Relaxing and visiting with a friend over ice cream? Do something to fill yourself up so you don't have to go through the motions empty!
