Johnhwilburn.com

Two days before flying back to Saint Vincent I went with my mom and dad to have a “birthday lunch” of fajitas at one of my favorite restaurants.

It was enjoyable to eat lots of amazing food and spend time my parents before flying home….

But at the same time I was embarrassed about the amount of weight I’d gained.

Almost every time I got to the States, I’ll gain what I lovingly refer to as “American weight.” This is ten to fifteen pounds gained as a result of things you can’t get in the States (soda’s, sweets), my mother’s cooking, and you drive everywhere instead of walking.

Now the truth is I can discipline myself in the States and keep from losing the American weight. But instead choose not too. This isn’t laziness on my part (okay, maybe a little bit) but it comes from the understanding I’ll lose that weight quickly on the mission field.

Also God gives me a season of celebration, and restoration.

The Christian life is often hard, and ministry is a daily battle against Satan. There is nothing wrong with this because that’s the way it should be! Yet in the midst of that battle God gives times of rest and recovery.

David in the well-known passage Psalm 23 says “He restoreth my soul” (Psalm 23:3). Here he refers to a time of rest and recovery in the midst of his running from King Saul. The Lord knew this kind of struggle would wear David down. So He would give restoration opportunities in the midst of it.

The Lord gives seasons of rest and recovery in our own lives as well….opportunities to become stronger and prepare for future battles.

And we must take advantage of them.

Eating those fajitas, I knew in hit the ground running ministry-wise in three days. And was incredibly grateful the Lord gave allowed me to spend time with family and gain some weight before that happened.