School is out for summer, the kids are home, and my life just got more complicated. I am now balancing their work and sports schedules, my work schedule, their chores, and social events. As a busy family with seven children ranging from 3 to 19, there are times when life is in the fast lane and things show no sign of slowing down.

For example, just recently, we celebrated a First Communion, a Confirmation, graduations from high school and eighth grade, numerous end-of-school-year activities, brought a son home from college, had one child get their tonsils out, and another child had their wisdom teeth removed! Yep, this is my life. The question is, how can I manage it in a way that doesn’t leave me stressed out and feeling burdened?

Speaking of burdened, I knew I needed a day of spiritual renewal when my favorite Scripture was, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

Christ makes it clear, in order to receive our rest, we must first come to him. He is calling, but are you responding? Are you willing to follow him, step away from the race of life, and say, “yes” to restoration and time out for renewal? When we acknowledge these difficult times, we need to step away like Our Lord did when he would go off and spend time in prayer.

While we may sometimes just want to relax and decompress, consider doing one better for the soul and include some time to pray and reflect! Give yourself 24 hours to be restored, renewed, and strengthened for your weary journey! That is exactly what I did one weekend recently, and as a result, I feel filled up, not burdened like I did before I left.

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