We all have days, weeks, and even months that we dread. When we know the workload, social engagements, detailed assignments, and sundry responsibilities that seem to compile upon one another in a short period of time, the pressure and stress can really take its toll. The month of April remains probably my biggest challenge of the foreseeable year. “Why?” you might ask; because of several key events and projects looming over the month. If I were the type to circle days or months with color coding, April would get a big red swath.
The three biggest events for me are Easter, Baby, and Dissertation. First, Easter, by its very nature as a time of celebrating our Lord’s resurrection from the dead, however it creates plenty of work needing to be done prior to our grandest day of the year. The second is another time of life and joy, our baby is scheduled for arrival around the eighteenth of April. Ginny pregnancy remains very ordinary without any complications, yet she is starting to show signs of this little girl readying her appearance. Ginny feels it could be any day, the doctor says it could be any day, and by all accounts of labor pains it could be any day. We are just now getting Michael to sleep all night in his new bed, can’t we have a few nights rest before the baby comes? The third involves my dissertation. It was sent to the editor three weeks ago and I am anxiously waiting for its return so I can make the much needed corrections and then prepare for the defense. The last day in April I will be traveling to Kentucky to defend my work. Besides the hours spent writing the dissertation, the administrative paper work associated with the degree is enough to discourage one from pursuing it.
To say the least, my energy level seems to remain pretty low. It is no wonder that when I read about Jesus taking the disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-45) and saying to them, “sit here while I go over there and pray,” I understand the disciples tendency to sleep. It is not that I feel the business at hand isn’t important, but staying focused becomes more difficult with few hours of rest. Three times Jesus asked them to remain diligent and “keep watch with me” and three times he returns only to find them overcome with exhaustion. Sometimes the exhaustion becomes substituted by busyness or attention deficit because people are so focused on getting their own ideas accomplished they have little time for focusing on the Lord’s work.
However, over the past two weeks I’ve tried to intentionally pray for the needs of our church and community. Included in my prayers are people in our church enduring “big” events of their own. I know of a husband laying beside his wife’s hospital bed hoping the effects of the stroke will not be permanent; I know of families trying to re-prioritize their budget to meet the decrease of income from the downturn in the economy; I think about a young couple recently married soon to face both great joy as well as many challenges; I think of children coping with drastic changes in their families; I think about members giving prayers of gratitude to God for their healing and recovery, as well as members crying out when the feelings of hopelessness becomes too strong.
All of these are heavy burdens placed upon faithful people, I hope I can remain attentive and not distracted. Prayer is not merely an after thought or a time of gratitude, it is a time to focus on the matters at hand and to give our utmost attention to them. For Jesus, the joy of the resurrection could not have been accomplished without the diligence of prayer in the garden preparing him with endurance for the cross. It teaches us we arrive at great triumphs only through due diligence in the garden.
I especially look forward to seeing all of you at the prayer celebration place on Sunday,
Travis
