Oh the eight month slump. Things that I would relate it to for you to understand: The “Sophomore Slump”, The Post-Grad “what the heck to I do with my life” slump, The Theme Park “I’ve been here all day but I still haven’t ridden all of the rides and I really want to but I’m also really hot and tired and I don’t want to wait in line” slump. That one might have been a stretch but it still paints a pretty accurate picture. So to sum it up, the eight month slump is a real thing, and it’s a tough thing.
Here is a note I got from a friend, what she felt like the Lord was saying, that SO ACCURATELY describes where I’m at right now.
I see a watch that’s been ticking for a long time.
I’ve been living a life on the move, constantly changing countries, cultures, and communities. I’ve been living in eight months of newness, staying in a place just long enough to feel adjusted, and then it’s time to leave. I’ve been pouring into my community, my ministry, and my people back home for eight months now. Eight months is a long time.
It’s getting slower because the battery is wearing down.
The more you use a battery, the more it wears down. Much like a battery, I have been giving without taking the time to “charge” to 100%. There are expectations that I have placed on myself and there are expectations that others have unintentionally placed on me, which have caused a big drain. I am feeling the spiritual heaviness of being in Thailand, which gives the enemy a foothold to push doubt and exhaustion on me. Im slowing down, tip-toeing on the edge of a burnout, trying to give as much as I can to other people without filling back up first.
The watch can’t replace its own battery, but needs a specialist to do so. Let God change your battery.You can’t do it yourself.
I thought that I was giving God the space to refresh me, to fill me up so I could pour back out. I was wrong. I have been spending the past week and a half trying, and failing, to change my own battery. I have invited God into the process, but instead of handing over my battery to him, I have held onto it with closed hands.
Here is another note from a friend, something she felt the Lord wanted her to share with me.
I see a rainbow and there is gold at the end, but the end is not in sight…actually yes it is now. I feel the Lord is saying you have a great blessing coming ahead, you just have to keep walking until you get there.
The end might not seem near or even in sight to my “eight month slump,” but IT IS there. I just have to keep walking with hands and heart open to refreshment and refillment (not sure if thats a word but it will have to do).
I am re-reading this book right now called “A Shepherd’s Look at Psalm 23” and I am yet again, blown away by it and how it so perfectly seems to be timed with my life.
“As I stood there watching the animals quench their thirst at the still waters I was again immensely impressed by the fact that everything hinges and depends upon the diligence of the owner, the shepard. Only through his energy, his efforts, his sweat, his strength could the sheep be satisfied. In the Christian life exactly the same applies. Many of the places we may be lead into will appear to us as dark, deep, dangerous, and somewhat disagreeable. But it simply must be remembered that He is there with us in it. He is very much at work in the situation. It is His energy, effort, and strength expended on my behalf that even in this deep, dark place is bound to produce a benefit for me.”
I feel like I am in that dark, deep, dangerous, and somewhat disagreeable place right now, but I’m comforted in the fact that God is in it with me. He has me here for a reason. He is teaching me something new. He is the strength I will rely and He is the thing that will recharge me. So while I feel like I’m sulking in the eight month slump, I am not submitting to it. I am walking confident in it with the knowledge that there is gold at the end of the rainbow.
