There is so much to get done on a daily basis. Even retired, sometimes I feel overwhelmed with all that I have to do because some days I am still promising to do more than I can get done. Nevertheless, I continue to add to my commitments and then sometimes I have difficulty sleeping because I am trying to figure out how to get it all done. Well, God has the answer, of course!

Have you ever kept the phone close beside you because you just know that someone is going to call and invite you to do something with them, something that you really want to do? I remember doing that in college, only our phone for the Spanish House where I lived was a landline in a “phone closet.” Each time it rang, I was hopeful (as were the other girls in the dorm, most likely) that the call would be for me and it would be a friend calling to whisk me away from the cares of studying and take me into the world of fun, just for a few hours. I must admit that, as shy as I was, the calls were infrequently for me, but when they were, I was elated, so excited that I could hardly speak. I could leave behind the math and the biology that were a challenge to me and just have fun for a few hours.

Now, I have discovered that God is calling me daily to leave the cares of this world behind. He tells me in His word to just listen and come to Him. He is always there. I don’t have to wait for a phone call. I just have to get close to him, to come to Him who has never moved or changed. He then restores to me the strength to do what I have to do and the wisdom to choose what I say “no” to so that I am not so overwhelmed. Is it wrong to leave the world and its worries behind and withdraw to be with the Lord? That means that for that time that I’m with the Lord, I am not fulfilling the commitments that I have made. But what it also means is that I come away refreshed and ready to work harder and longer doing the tasks set before me. So, if you are feeling overwhelmed, then perhaps you need to come and listen to the Lord. Just withdraw from your cares for a period of time, much as Jesus withdrew from the crowds and went away to pray. Jesus was our example to go away with God and to be renewed in spirit and mind. I hope that today is the day that you become refreshed in Him, His love and His strength! Blessings for a day that is filled with God and His Spirit!