Messy Advice... | Busy Hearts Need Rest Too

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This one's for anyone who's ever stared at an unread text notification and

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thought, I'll love them tomorrow. Let's be

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honest. There's a difference between caring deeply and being constantly

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available, and a lot of us are confusing the two. We've

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all had that day off, the one where we'd swore we'd rest

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and then said yes to helping someone move, mediating a group chat

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conflict, and dropping off a pie we didn't bake. Suddenly,

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your soul care day or Sabbath looks suspiciously like another shift.

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Welcome to Messy Advice for People Who Care, a summer series from

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Journey with Care for anyone who loves deeply and occasionally fantasizes

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about becoming unreachable. We're talking about caregiving,

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boundaries, burnout, and the not so clear moments of loving it

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as well, minus the formulas. This is

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Johan on the edge of helpful, offering wisdom for when your soul needs

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rest and your inbox needs deleting. Hey.

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If you've ever wondered whether you're allowed to take a break from caring,

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this one's for you. Here's the question we're gonna address today.

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I love people, but I'm exhausted.

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Does stepping back mean that I've stopped caring?

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That's a brave question and, honestly, one I wish more of us

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would ask before hitting our limit. According to a

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2023 survey by the Canadian Center for Caregiving

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Excellence, forty seven percent of caregivers reported

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feeling tired, forty four percent felt worried or anxious,

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and thirty seven percent felt overwhelmed due to their caregiving

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responsibilities. So if you ever found yourself emotionally

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drained just thinking about another quick favor, you're in

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good company. It's not just you. It's a shared experience among

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other caregivers. But you see, exhaustion isn't

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failure. It's feedback. And let's talk about what

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that feedback is trying to say. Just because you care

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doesn't mean you're on call twenty four seven. That's not

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compassion. That's customer service. Picture

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this. You've got one quiet evening ahead,

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a hot drink, a show you're looking to finish, then

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the phone buzzes. Hey. Sorry. Last minute. I know, but

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could you dot dot dot. Your brain screams

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no, and your heart whispers maybe,

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and your fingers type, of course.

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And suddenly, you're back in the game, resentful,

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tired, and still trying to be holy.

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Let's take a look at this passage in Luke five fifteen

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to 16. Let's get biblical.

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Biblical. By this point in Luke's gospel, Jesus's

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reputation is exploding. Crowds are

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gathering. People are bringing their sick. They're hurting. They're desperate.

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He's in high demand for healing, for teaching, for hope.

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Like, back in the day, forget Taylor Swift. This is Jesus we're talking

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about. And in verse 16, we get this little line that almost

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feels like a whisper in scripture, But Jesus often

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withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Not

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once, not after he finished everything on his

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list, but often. He didn't

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vanish out of frustration. He didn't burn out and disappear.

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He stepped away intentionally, prayerfully,

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even while people were still waiting. And

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that's huge because some of us feel like stepping

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back is only allowed after everyone else is okay.

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But Jesus showed us a different rhythm, one where rest

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isn't earned. It's part of obedience, where love doesn't

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mean endless access, and faithfulness includes quiet

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places. Jesus didn't ghost people, and

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he didn't let their needs dictate his life and calling either

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because even perfect love had patterns of

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pause to reconnect his soul with God,

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to get that refueling. And if Jesus needed space to

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breathe, pray, and be alone, we probably

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do too. So if you're tired, maybe the most

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faithful thing you could do is rest. Not because you don't

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care, but because you do, Deep care without

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rest eventually turns into resentment, and we don't want

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that. So take a step back. Take a

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breath. Love will still be there when you return.

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And, hey, if this resonated with you, you're not the only one trying to love

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without collapsing. Give yourself permission to

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pause. And if you got a messy question about

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caregiving, compassion fatigue, or your inner urge to

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escape to the mountains, join us on our Care Impact

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Facebook group, bunch of like minded individuals there. We're we're

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asking the same questions. And until next time, keep loving,

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keep laughing, and if you need to go off grid, at least charge your

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phone first and stay curious.