The empty plate I stare at while I’m making grilled cheese for my family laughs cruelly in my face. Feeding a family of seven takes a lot and my plate is often the last one filled, if it gets filled at all. The hollowness of that plate matches the gnawing hollowness of my soul. Starvation runs deep. My stomach gnaws at my backbone in hunger. But starvation doesn’t just extend to our physical self. You can eat three square meals a day and still be starved. Empty. Hollow. You can hear the wind whip around inside you as you realize that it’s not just your body that needs to be fed.
Mark 6:31 says, “and He said to them ‘Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while. For many were coming and going, and the had no leisure even to eat.’” We get so busy and caught up in taking care of everything and everyone that we often forget to even exist as humans that need restoration as well. Jesus calls to us here and says that we need to come away with him so that we can finally get some of that soul nourishing peace and rest.
Society is busy. Busy is the goal for most people. People get so busy that they often forget to do anything for themselves until they fall ill from lack of care. We give so much of ourselves to work, home, family, church, and so much more. What do we give to ourselves? We can’t always expect someone else to feed into us, after all we are told to give without expectations of something in return. So at the end of the day, we are depleted by serving others.
We become much like Martha in Luke 10:41, we get so busy serving others we forget to take time for ourselves. Luke 10:41 says, “But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.’” Right here Jesus is answering Martha, who has been so busy preparing and serving that Lord, while her sister Mary merely sat at the feet of Jesus. Martha threw a bit of a tantrum because she was the only one doing anything to serve our most Heavenly Lord and she felt ragged and worn down. Jesus’ answer to Martha was to point out that she need not feel anxious or troubled over the serving, but that she should, like Mary, merely rest in Him. She should have followed in her sister’s example and allowed her soul to soak up the sustenance that is the Lord.
I know how hard it is to let go of the control we feel by doing everything ourselves for everyone else. I struggle to let my kids do any of the household chores because they take forever to do it or they don’t do it the way I like. So I typically end up with all the responsibilities. But you know what happens? Momma feels overwhelmed, overstimulated, burned out, and drained of all energy.
One thing we are called to do after we become followers of Christ is to give up that control and lay all things at the feet of Jesus. And I mean ALL control. Not all of it but this tiny little corner that I’m going to hold to. You need to really let go and let God. So letting go and sharing my responsibilities with others, despite how they do it, alleviates the busy off my soul and gives me time to rest with the Lord and refuel myself for the day. For Jeremiah 31:25 says, “For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.” Jesus invites us to come to him when we feel empty and hollow. He is the living water that will sustain us. He pours into our empty cups. After all, I always say that you can’t pour from an empty cup. We must have a way to replenish what we pour out. So, let Jesus be the unending fount that keeps your soul fed and watered.
Breath & Bone 
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