Weary

I lay on my son’s bed, his little head on his pillow, his little hand clasping my bicep. His fresh from a bath scent filled the air. A more peaceful and idyllic scene you’d be hard pressed to imagine.

Except … I was weary.

Not sleepy.

Weary.

I lay there, berating myself for wanting to run from the room. For wanting just a few minutes for myself. For not appreciating the gift snuggled up to me. 

Then these words popped into my head.

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. (Isaiah 40:28 - ESV)

He does not grow weary?

I’ve heard this verse a hundred times. Apparently, I have it memorized. (Thanks to AWANA, years of Christian school and a mom who had no reason to believe her 18-month-old couldn’t memorize Scripture). 

But I’ve never thought about it this way. I’ve always thought about it in terms of physical fatigue or of sleep.

We teach our kids that God never sleeps. That He’s always on the job. That He’s always in control. All true. All good.

Tonight, I’m wondering if we should also teach them that unlike their frail, earthly parents, their Heavenly Father never grows weary.

He never pulls away.

He never shrugs us off.

He never rolls His eyes.

He never huffs.

He never holds us in His arms while secretly wishing He could go have a bowl of ice cream and watch a rerun of Doctor Who.

He never grows weary.

He is always there. Not just spiritually present, but emotionally and mentally engaged.

He always wants us around.

Always.

Thank about that! Can you honestly say there is anyone - even one person - that you ALWAYS want around? 

God wants you that much. Always. All the time. 

So much so that He sent His only Son to come. To be Emmanuel. God with us. To make a way for us to be with Him.

Always.

Even though we run from Him, ignore Him, and in some cases, flat-out despise Him, He never grows weary. He loves us with a love that cannot be explained and can barely be imagined. 

As Sally Lloyd-Jones puts it in The Jesus Storybook Bible, He loves us with a 

Never Stopping

Never Ending

Never Giving Up,

Unbreaking,

Always and Forever Love.

I don’t know about you, but being loved like that?

That’s rest for a weary soul.