'They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow. ' Colossians 2:19

 On Sunday you take a look at your calendar for the week in order to mentally prepare for what is ahead. As you look at the week you see a lot of writing and hardly any white space. You sigh and shrug your shoulders. Here we go again!

On Monday you get up, get yourself ready, get the kids to school, go to work, pick up the kids, get dinner, then off you fly to a church activity. You get home and fall into bed. Then you get up and do the same thing all over again. If you get a shower in the morning, you are lucky!

How’s that going for you? How do you feel? I have been there and done that and I can sum up how you feel in one word: EXHAUSTED!

To be exhausted is to be “completely or almost completely depleted of resources.” It is to be drained of physical and mental energy. It means that you have got almost nothing left to give anyone. You haven’t cared for yourself properly, so you haven’t protected your resources or refilled your reservoir. The pool is just about empty.

You know it isn’t supposed to be this way. You know that Jesus has more to fill you with, but when do you even have time to connect with Him? If you did have white space in your calendar, what would you do with it?

I’ll bet you have one word in mind. SLEEP! Sleep is a holy thing. No joke! God has made us to need rest, so don’t deny yourself sleep. But rest and sleep are not exactly the same thing. Rest is a time of replenishment. In rest, you refill that reservoir. In rest, you re-establish your connections with yourself, with the people you are close to, and with Christ. How are you replenishing your reservoir? Are you staying connected to Christ?

There are people who are full of religious activity. They pay attention to all kinds of rules. They are busy doing religious things. Yet, they are no longer connected to Christ who is love, not legalism. Is that you, my friend? Growth, real growth, is the result of connection with Christ. Are you growing the way you would like to? How do you stay connected to Christ?

To stay connected to Christ is to abide. To make my home in His presence. It is to intentionally remind myself that apart from Him I can do nothing and to express my need for Him and to Him. It is to choose to focus on His Word rather than the words in my head or someone else’s mouth. It is to choose thanks over complaining. How are you doing with that? Do you need to remind yourself to reconnect with Christ?

 Here are some tips to help you reconnect:

 STOP! If you never take time to slow down, you will never be able to evaluate your current condition. Reflection can only happen in a time of rest. Plan a time THIS WEEK to stop, rest and reflect. The white space won’t magically appear in your calendar. You will have to carve it out. Why? Because your spiritual connection with Christ is more important than everything else you are doing.

If I want to grow spiritually, I need to stay connected to the source of growth, to Christ. Spiritual growth is simply becoming more Christ-like.  And that growth will naturally help me grow into the person that I was designed to be. To grow is to become more like the me I was meant to be, not the me everyone else thinks I should be. Or the me that lines up with a set of rules and regulations. Growing means thriving and living beyond artificial limits. Growing is life and peace. Don’t you want that? How are you growing?

 Rediscover. Once you stop, take some time to rediscover your connection with Christ. Are you abiding? What does it feel like when you are? How do you want to carry that into your busy schedule? It is possible to stay busy and stay connected. That is your goal. A life connected to Christ can’t help but grow more Christ-like. Rediscover that connection. It is the most important spiritual activity you can engage in!

God is the one who causes growth. Jesus described Himself as the vine and His followers as the branches. Apart from Him, I cannot do a thing. (John 15:5) The life of the whole plant comes from the Vine. The branches grow and flourish as life flows through the vine. A branch cut off from the vine withers and eventually dies. It doesn't grow. Is His life flowing through you or are you withering? Rediscover your connection to the Vine!

Plan for replenishment. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Ever heard that one? What is your plan for staying connected to Christ? Remember, white space does not magically appear in your calendar. Your calendar is the result of your decisions.

I understand that there are things like work and school that you don’t have a whole bunch of control over, but you do have some control. How can you streamline your work and school schedules? There may be a few things you can trim.

What about your extra-curricular activities, those things outside of work and school? That includes church and everything else! Do you spend two hours a week or more at the grocery store? What if you ordered your groceries online and picked them up instead? How might you use those two hours?

Which church activities are non-negotiable? Which can you pull back from? Where can you carve out a regular Sabbath?

Sabbath is a commandment, not a suggestion. It is actually one of the Ten Commandments. The Big Ten! Have you really thought about that? You know you shouldn’t murder or steal or lie or covet or commit adultery. You know you should honor your parents and worship only God. But have you considered how you “remember the Sabbath to keep it holy”? A Sabbath is not only necessary for your physical and emotional health. It is necessary for your spiritual health. Sabbath reminds you that the world will go on without you for a day because God is in control. Sabbath reminds you that God is God, and you are not. Sabbath forces you to trust God with the things that are in your control as well as the things that are out of your control.

A Sabbath day is a weekly plan for replenishment. It will take effort and it won’t always be comfortable. But if you aren’t sure how to do it or when to do it, decide to do it out of obedience to God. Do you need another reason?

 Dear Friend, I want you to be all that God designed you to be. I want you to fulfill your divine potential. I want you to grow and keep growing – to become more Christ-like, because that is the result of spiritual growth. The only way to do that is to remain connected to Christ, to regularly refill your reservoir. And the only way to remain connected to Christ is to slow down, make some white space and choose replenishment.

When you stay connected to Christ, growth is inevitable, my friend!

 Key Thought: When I stay connected to Christ, growth is inevitable.

A Scripture to Consider: 'They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow. ' Colossians 2:19

A YES Challenge: Evaluate your current commitments. How do these commitments pull you away from your connection to Christ?  Be sure to include your church commitments in your review. What might you need to stop doing to regain your connection to Him?

Prayer: Lord, I don’t want to be so busy that I lose my connection to You! I don’t want to be so busy doing church things that I forget the One I am doing them for. Help me to honestly evaluate the things I am committed to. Help me to recognize the activities You have called me to and to weed out activity clutter so that I can cultivate a deeper connection to Christ. What I want most is to be Yours. Amen.