After leading a big program or event, there is physical and mental weariness.

Ask anyone who works in Children’s Ministry, and they’ll tell you “There’s no tired like VBS (Vacation Bible school) tired.” After extensive preparation, managing volunteers, and maintaining safety and integrity of the ministry, juggling all aspects of a big program is exhausting. The same kind of weariness follows a pageant, service project, or other large-scale event. After a relatively sleepless retreat with young adults, I collapse on my couch for a nap.

But this weary comes with reward. There is celebration for the ways God was at work in and through those who participated. This weary is a result of labor, and fades with time and rest.

There’s a kind of weariness that a mom feels after staying up at night with a child.

This weary isn’t the “tired” kind, because somehow a mom can overcome fatigue and stay alert to the needs of the precious ones in her care. Even at night, a mom can hear the slightest whimper and rises to wipe a forehead or hold her child.

No, this weariness comes from bearing a child’s pain, suffering, or sadness. This weariness puts an ache in a mother’s heart that lingers long after the fever has broken, the nausea ends, or the pain subsides. This is the weariness that comes from wanting to protect her children from heartache and suffering. To be honest, I think this weariness never ends, even after children become adults.

But now I have a different kind of weary.

I overheard a group of adults last week discussing LGTBQ+ affirmation of value (or lack of). On a Sunday morning when our church was focusing on BEING LOVE, this small group decided it was more important to express myopic views about something of which most knew very little.

Using Biblical references out of context and avoiding Jesus’ command to love, people who claim to be Christians and reject others leave me weary. If we discussed the things Jesus actually preached against: arrogance, greed, selfishness, and judging others, maybe we could move toward really being love in the world.

I’m weary of the battle. But a tired fighter can still be a fighter.

Robert Cormier