04 Oct The Incredible Cost of Pushing Ourselves Too Hard
October 4, 2010
From Break Free, Chapter 1:
“It was dark. A strange darkness. Only 4:30 in the afternoon, and yet clearly, night had fallen.
Our plane was just touching down in Budapest, Hungary on a bleak winter afternoon. And yet, I felt no sense of foreboding about what was to come. Just the opposite. There was only light-hearted anticipation of a new beginning, a fresh life. The five of us were experienced adventurers, eager to explore a new country and existence. Throughout the previous eight years, living and traveling in New Zealand, we had explored remote forests, discovered hidden waterfalls, climbed a majestic glacier. Our three children had been raised on the thrill of experiencing new cultures, and couldn’t wait to dive into this intriguing Eastern European country.
For my husband, John, and I, this move was the culmination of a lifetime of training, preparation, and planning. Here we would live and travel throughout 18 countries with our work.
And yet in the midst of my exhilaration was a growing “presence” I tried to ignore. It began as a barely-noticeable aching months before. I had packed up our household, preparing to move from New Zealand to Hungary, bending and lifting continuously. Over the weeks, my shoulders and arms had started to ache and stiffen, yet we had to move by a certain date.
And so I kept pushing, thinking that when the move was complete, and we were in Hungary, then I would rest and heal. If only I’d known the tremendous price I would pay, pushing myself to move by December. If I had known what these symptoms meant, maybe I could have avoided the darkness that would follow.”
Are you paying a price for pushing too hard? What positive results can you expect from wise management of your personal resources?
“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Mark 6:31