Yesterday I redlined.
I’m talking about flooring my personal gas pedal until my engine was revving so high that I ground to a halt. 
We’ve begun the process of selling our house—painting, de-cluttering, repairing, replacing, cleaning, hucking. I’ve been going hard for a week now, especially on the painting front. And now I’m done.
Not because I’ve completed the tasks on the list, but because I’m done. Caput. If I push any more, I’m going to break something precious in my soul.
Our souls have a rhythm, you see. Inhale, exhale. Work, rest. Give, receive. Pour, fill. Everyone’s rhythm is unique, too—some can thrive on six hours of sleep, while I need eight. Some people are high-capacity, others not so much. What I do know is, everyone has a limit, and most people don’t know where that line is.
I know mine. I start getting fuzzy in the head when I get too close. My anxiety level rises. My frustration-o-meter goes into the red zone. My already anemic ability to multitask disappears. I find it difficult to stay in the moment. My stomach burns.
When those symptoms raise their foreboding heads, its past time to pull back. It’s a sign that I’ve already gone too far, but if I’m quick and thorough, there’s still time to recover. Two years ago I almost burned out… or maybe, I partially burned out. It was really scary.
I’m not going back.
So I pulled out of the rat race. I lay down. Invited the Lord to center me. Rested. Let my mind go fallow. Enjoyed the present moment. And felt the IV of God’s life serum drip-dripping back into my spiritual bloodstream.
What are your signs of red-lining? Are you there now? What will you do about it?
When I feel stressed and can’t go any further. I allow myself to sleep in and an extra time for just slowing down. Self care is ok. It is not selfish it is self care.
I hope you can do that too very soon. My other remedy is a trip to the beach to walk on the sand and hear the oceans roar as the wind ‘clears’ my heart and head.
I unplug with the world when I’m feeling overwhelmed and plug into the word and time alone with God. It helps me clear my mind and my full plate. The next day, I’m fully charged and able to see clearly again. Your post is very familiar to me. I think it’s a ritual we should all get into the habit of doing.
You are moving away???? When?????
Not away, over. We’re staying in Coventry Hills, just finding something bigger for our family. 🙂
What are your signs of red-lining? Are you there now? What will you do about it?
Red-lining…
1. When I try to find my identity by comparing myself to other people.
2. when I think I’m only a physical, and not a spiritual being; and put on a game face and think in terms of survival – only of this moment/crisis etc.
3. when I get into blaming, and wallow in a pity party for an extended period of time.
Am I there now – or more correctly, Have I ever really left these episodes of burnout? No, I haven’t; but I’ve learned some great denial tactics – humor works for me!
What will I do? I, (hopefully) will do nothing (I’ve tried it all already) – but rather to confess to myself and God that I desperately need His daily salvation – His life to infuse mine and I hope that over time, it will all come together as He promised it would. The verse about “now seeing dimly through a dark glass” and the definition of faith in Hebrews helps me along…. I can’t imagine how those who don’t trust God can cope!
Thanks for sharing, man. And for being real. Peace.