Daily Devotionals

Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life

Devotional: April 11th

Is he back? Isn't he back? Probably. This week has been a difficult one for writing a column. If I was one of those guys who has all the toys, laptop included, I could have kept up. But I don't, so I missed Monday morning (on the road to Florida) and Wednesday morning (on the road back home to Kentucky). I am at home today and tomorrow.

Yesterday was an interesting day. I left my nephew's home in Melbourne, Florida, around 7:10 A.M. I had figured that I could drive the entire thirteen hour trip and take enough stops to stay fresh. My target time to be home was 10:00 P.M. I had driven that distance home back in 2000 but that was before my arthritis had gotten quite as bad. I was hoping for a restful (yes, restful) trip home. I got it.

Now I understand some things a little bit better than before. My brakes were mostly for needed sustenance both for me and my car. However, I always got a little exercise in such as walking around or stretching. When I got home I was feeling fine. No back pain, no knee pain, no nothing. I was not even road weary. I actually felt rested.

So how does one feel rested after a thirteen plus hour trip? How does one feel rested in a seemingly interminable life? We take breaks. We recharge. We go on a road trip, vacation, stay-at-home-I-gotta-lotta-stuff-ta-do. The thing that benefitted me was that I was feeding my body during the breaks and the engine that was carrying me safely home.

That's where a lot of people get tired. They forget to feed the soul as well as the body. When Jesus sent out the twelve He had a plan for them when they returned. But it wasn't more work. "And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. And He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place." Luke 9:10 After His baptism, Jesus fasted forty days and nights. After feeding the five thousand, He went to a mountain to pray. Take a break and feed your soul.