Everyday Prayers for the School YearSample

May They Seek God

Since college, I have been a project junkie. Whether participating in a club, volunteer work, teaching, writing, or sports, I am the person who is running around trying to keep multiple plates spinning above my head.

I have experienced burnout several times, but as soon as I had any energy, I jumped right back in. The activities were always “good” things—clubs that connected people, volunteer programs that saved children, writing that encouraged, teaching that pointed to Jesus, and sports that connected with other believers.

Then in the fall of 2020, the exhaustion hit harder than it ever had before. For months, I was so tired that I could hardly see straight. Many nights, I would fall into bed at 7 p.m. like I did when I was pregnant, but I knew that wasn’t possible. After a year of doctor’s visits and blood tests, I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Ever so slowly, God began peeling activities and responsibilities out of my hands. I felt like Gideon and his shrinking army. (See Judges 7.) I kept asking, “Is this enough?” God would shake His head and gently say, “No, not yet. Keep letting go.”

Over those months, God began whispering to my heart that His will for me wasn’t more activities. It was more of Him.

Unsurprisingly, David in Psalm 37 shares a similar message. The theme of this psalm is that even when the wicked and those around us seem to be succeeding and passing us by, we need to put our trust in God, seek Him, and wait for Him.

As I’ve learned to wait, He’s taught me to:

* Focus on Him first and leave the growth to Him

* Ask Him about my next steps before jumping headlong

* Go deep in a few things instead of being shallow in many

These lessons have been so hard for me to learn. They are hard for our kids to learn, too.

Our kids are often encouraged to be better, faster, and stronger, to do more. It is often framed in the context of making it into the best school and getting scholarships for college.

But as Psalm 37 tries to teach us, our kids need to bring those plans before God. Instead of more activities that lead to burnout, let’s pray that they seek more of Him.

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