I was in the middle of a non-stop day, trying hard to hold myself together. As I left the hospital after a heartbreaking visit with a family, I held back tears and continued to the next visit. I wanted to be encouraging and uplifting, but the day had been filled with tough events, demanding jobs, and painful visits. After the last appointment, I sat in my car and finally allowed the tears to fall. “Lord, please help.” I couldn’t articulate a prayer with more words than that, but it was enough.
I decided to take a break, grab a cup of coffee, and head to my favorite pond. I love to watch the ducks, geese, and birds that populate the area. As I sat on my favorite bench, I spotted a group of ducks swimming together, and noticed one duck toward the back of the group, awkwardly trying to keep up with the others. At one point, as he hurriedly tried to catch the group of ducks, he flipped over, and I could that see his little legs were still paddling furiously. When he flipped back over, those paddling legs finally allowed him to reach the others. It looked like he was gliding on the water, but after his flip, I knew what those legs were doing: paddling as if he was swimming for his life! But you would never know that from the view I had.
Do you ever feel like that duck? From the outside, you look put together and smooth, sailing on top of the water. But inside you are paddling for your life, trying to catch up – or just stay afloat. That was me that day. Paddling. Praying. Trying to keep myself from going under.
In today’s world, with social media at our fingertips, it’s easy to think that everyone is just gliding on top of the water. We scroll through and never realize that there is a lot of 
paddling going on underneath. On certain days, some of us are swimming for dear life! We’ve all had those days. As I sat on the bench, taking it all in, I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, thanking God for this reminder. It’s okay to be at my wit’s end because that’s when Jesus’ mercies begin. He meets me right where I am and lifts me up. When the winds blow and the hard days feel unending, He whispers to me that I can stop paddling. He calms the storm inside me and hushes the roaring waves that threaten to pull me under.
Are you weary? Do you feel like you are paddling through life, never catching up, in danger of sinking? Maybe you have reached your limit. If so, I want to encourage you. God understands. During His busiest days of ministry, Jesus reached His limit, too. He knew when to withdraw and head for the hills. He knew when to say no or wait and be still so His Father’s kingdom would come and His will would be done on earth as it is in heaven.
I’m so thankful for a Heavenly Father who knows our needs. He gives us our daily bread and breathes life into our dry, weary bones. My prayer today is that His love will fuel you and His power transforms your weakness into strength for the long haul.
Galatians 6:9 reminds us, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Keep going, but know that God has you in his arms, and you can stop paddling. He’ll get you where you need to go, and will give you rest on the journey.
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Lisa Bain Ministries