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There is more than one kind of tiredness, you know, don’t you?

You can get physically exhausted from work in which you use your body a lot. Especially if you use muscles you don’t normally use every day. Your bowels can get sluggish too. The old advice to take a spring tonic might help.

You can get emotionally exhausted when you experience a wide range of emotions, and sometimes with sudden changes. That can make you very tired. Perhaps a spring tonic would work here too.

You can also get spiritually exhausted when you give and give of yourself all day, or over several days, and no one refreshes you with input that rejuvenates your spirit. That kind of tiredness can easily be mistaken for physical weariness, however sleep doesn’t replenish you as quickly as few kind words from a friend.

This morning I realized there is yet another kind of tiredness that doesn’t fall into the above categories too well. Yesterday I had a pen pal of many years come in for a one day visit. We are both gregarious women and talk and talked for hours on end. Last night I sort of sank together like a sack of potatoes after I’d taken her to the airport, and was trying to check email. When I got up this morning I felt so very tired yet.

Why? I hadn’t done any unusually physical work, nor been on any emotional roller-coaster, and I didn’t think I’d given away that much of myself without getting plenty of strokes of encouragement too. After some thought I concluded that it is possible to get another kind of “tired” just from social interaction, even if all positive. Particularly since I don’t spend hours and hours in conversation with Dad.

So now when you are really tired, maybe it isn’t the fault of your business. Stop and evaluate. What kind of weariness do you really have? The physical, emotional, and social kinds just need some rest and time. You’ll recover fine. If you are spiritually tired, you need time to de-brief with the Lord Jesus, and some encouragement from people who understand and care for you.

Rejoicing in spring is a good tonic too, for most kinds of weary tension. Go out and revel in it!