OVERCOMING WEARINESS IN MARRIAGE

Why We Become Weary

It's Labor Day weekend and we thought it would be important to talk about a topic that’s quite common in families and marriages – WEARINESS. As we go through life, one challenge we all have to work through is with weariness; It’s easy to get tired. Weariness is just no limited to the physical body, but there other aspects of weariness (physical weariness, spiritual weariness, emotional weariness). Weary means, to lose your sense of pleasure, to not feel the enjoyment that you should.

You can be raising great children, but because you’re weary, you’re not enjoying them. You can have a strong marriage, but because you’re weary, the passion is just not there. You can have the job of your dreams, you worked hard to get it, but now weariness has set in, and you’re not excited about it anymore. It is interesting that we live in a society that challenges people to hustle, be on the grind, work harder and longer than anyone else, so you can rise to the top. Now, we get what they are saying and we're all about hard work and living a disciplined life, but there needs to be a balance with rest and relaxation.

Sometimes, because the battle is taking longer than we thought, we become weary. When the difficulty is lasting longer than expected, we’re working hard but not seeing the increase. Many marriages are suffering from battle fatigue; they’ve been standing a long time, trying to break the cycle of arguing, disagreements, and conflict.

The Apostle Paul said in Galatians 6:9, "And let us not grow weary in well-doing."

Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

The Message Bible says it like this - "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Five Ways To Overcome Weariness

1. Get more sleep - This seems a bit too obvious, but four to five hours of sleep is not healthy over the long hall. A good night's sleep is key to overcoming weariness.

2. Eat healthy – I think of the old saying, “Garbage in, garbage out.” If we want to overcome weariness, we need to eat healthy foods that fuel the body. Proper amount of carbs, protein, and healthy fats. The times you eat and what you eat.

3. Exercise often – Tons of studies show that a healthy dose of exercise fuels the body. Some form of exercise for at least 20 minutes per day. Something to get the heart rate going in a healthy way.

4. Practice the Sabbath – A Sabbath is a time to rest and recharge. It might be taking an hour of a day, or day of a week. God designed the sabbath for us a time of rest and renewal. Take the time to pray, read, and meditate.

5. Learn to say "No" – We live in a “Yes” culture, where people feel the need to be involved in every opportunity. Before we know it, our schedules are packed. We must learn to say no if we are to overcome weariness

We pray this resource will encourage every couple to take time to rest, thus overcoming the spirit of weariness.