Grace For The Weary

 

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    "My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word."

       Psalm 119:28 (NIV)

The psalmist sounds as if he experienced great woe. He states his condition so well. He says he is worn out to the center of his being—his inner soul. This writer begs God to make him strong, to fortify him, according to His plan.

Earlier this month, I joined several of the people at church and volunteered for a Kindergarten Brigade at a reopened school, a Kindergarten Center, in our town’s school system. I woke around 4:30 that morning. Did my devotional reading and prayed. My alarm sounded at 6:45. I left home a bit earlier than I planned to get some gasoline. I picked up a close friend who lives in my area and headed out to the  school. It was a humid day. The school’s staff had to change their plans from what we had been told. This one shift necessitated the volunteers to walk children to their classrooms. I had to walk this one little boy all over half this building twice in order to find where he belonged. I couldn’t remember the teacher’s name. Another child I took into the building hadn’t had breakfast. The school prepared for that. The cafeteria served breakfast to those who  needed to eat. We were only there for about two hours. The buses came, as they could and the majority of us waited outside. We all pitched in and helped each other with their assigned bus when it came.

 The weather conditions and being on my feet and walking for all that time triggered my fibromyalgia. The rest of the day, I was very tired and in pain.

I had a commitment to fulfill that evening. I had told our pastoral assistant I would bring two seedless watermelons to our midweek meal we have before our Bible Study at church. I knew I couldn’t carry them nor could I cut them, especially as I felt so bad.

I have learned to not react to circumstances that surround me when I have that much pain. One of my friends came in and had to stop an altercation between two of her grandsons.

Similar to the psalmist, I was very tired and ached like a toothache but not from sorrow. I was thankful that I was able to give my time and effort for the benefit of those who faced a new experience in their lives. God did give me the grace to volunteer at the school. He also gave me the grace not to react to the young boys as they created more stress.

That night, along with my other meds, I took two Ibuprofen tablets and slept very well.