TAKE ME AWAY

As I write this blog, it is Tuesday, August 04, 2009. Today, I have read another writer’s blog and received an email from a woman, both of whom are experiencing a burn-out, deep and utter exhaustion. Last week, I met with the Bishop of my denomination. I could not put into words how I had been feeling, I just knew I “couldn’t do it” anymore. My Bishop said I had “hit the wall.” “That’s it!" He had put into words what I could not. "That’s how I feel. And when I hit the wall, I bounced back only an inch, and the wall is still right in front of me.” I am now on a leave of absence for an indefinite period of time from everything I do at my church.

Here are three women, myself and my two “online” friends, strong in the Lord but who have experienced a total and complete meltdown. Although the circumstances that have brought the three of us to this point are completely different, the results are the same. We are utterly exhausted – physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. If we are feeling this way, I am positive that others feel this way too.

I was praying about what to write for this blog and looking through the Bible asking God to give me a Scripture that would be appropriate, not only for this period in my life, but for this blog as well. I went to the Song of Solomon, chapter 1, verse 4: Take me away with you – let us hurry. Let the king bring me into His chambers. (NIV) This is the Bride speaking. The Bride – that’s me…and you…and you…every Christian. She is asking the Bridegroom – God – to take her away. It is a cry from the depths of her heart. And I suspect it is the cry from the hearts of so many Christians – who have said “yes” to one more task when they should have said “no”, who are so overwhelmed that they are exhausted to the point of physical sickness to complete and total breakdown. It is the cry of my heart – “take me away.” Let us hurry – rush, hasten, be quick – because we desperately need to be with the Bridegroom. Alone with Him and Him only in His chambers. To be surrounded by His presence. To know His love for me. To talk with him. This is the cry of my heart.

What is the cry of your heart today? Tell Him. He is waiting to take you away – into His chambers. To surround you with His presence, to love you, to talk with you. It is the cry of His heart.