Do Good Despite Fatigue
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. -- Galatians 6:9
Fatigue slowed my steps and colored my words. I was overwhelmed by needs and was ready to just give up. Who could possibly do it all? And why should I? Others vowed they would help and, yet, where were they?
It was one of those times when I would have sat down and cried if I hadn’t been so tired. Know what I mean? I think most of us have seasons like that. We know they won’t last but that doesn’t make the journey any easier.
I’ve no one to blame but myself. It was my idea. Well, no, actually it wasn’t. It was God’s idea. And it’s a good one. This ministry aimed at helping those who are older or really sick was needed. People were falling through the cracks. It was becoming more a matter of who you knew as to whether you received help from your church family or not. And that is never a good thing.
It started slowly. We had a list of names and a few volunteers. Then a few more names and a few more volunteers. The needs were simple. Organize yard work. Send out cards. Host a small birthday party. Make a few phone calls.
And then they weren’t. Because people who are sick sometimes get sicker. And people who are older sometimes get less mobile. And word gets out that you’ll help, and you will. And then there are more needs than people and there you are, trying to juggle it all and knowing deep inside that whatever you do just isn’t enough.
That’s where I was at. I sat down with my pastor and told him someone else needs to take over. Someone who can devote far more time than me but someone who also has a heart for people in need. Because that’s what it’s all about. Helping people when they need it most.
But first you have to see the needs. It’s amazing to me that so many people simply don’t. One man is an almost full-time caregiver to a wife that is battling lung and brain cancer. The “almost” is because he has to continue working to provide insurance and support them both. And yet their Sunday school class didn’t consider the need for food deliveries. They were quick to help when I mentioned it, but they hadn’t thought of it before.
And then there’s the older gentleman lovingly caring for his wife as she slips further and further behind the curtain of Alzheimer’s. People had offered to sit with his wife but he’d always said no. “How do you know if people really mean it,” he asked me. So I gathered a list of names and phone numbers of people who really meant it and gave it to him. Something simple that will make all the difference in the world to him.
We are not to get tired of doing good. We are to cast our cares onto Jesus, knowing He is strong enough for both of us. But we are also meant to share the burdens and tragedies and trials of those around us. All of us. Love our neighbors. Do good where we can. Even when we’re tired and weary.
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