When Your Soul Is Running on Empty
Because burnout isn’t just physical—it’s spiritual too
Hubby and I took a flight to Boston this past December for his company holiday party. Direct flights always seem like the way to go—unless it’s two tired parents getting on a 5am flight from San Francisco to Boston while incurring multiple time changes. Nonetheless, we mainly were reveling in the moment of being able to slip away from the kids for a mini couples trip even with a quick turn around to return back home.
We arrived weary but ready to have fun. Yet, even the first night after enjoying a quiet dinner and finally getting a night to rest even far from home, I was exhausted but not just from the flight.
This was something else entirely that was hovering below the surface.
Something heavier.
Even in what seems like emptiness, there’s an invitation: not to push through, but to return. To let God meet us in the dry places of our lives and remind us—we were never meant to run on empty.
This week, I’m naming that moment—the quiet ache of a soul that needs more than self-care, one that needs living water.
The few days we stayed in Boston were quick but well enjoyed from a trip to visit The Paul Revere house (a definite must visit in Boston) to wandering cobblestone streets and trying official New England Clam Chowder (it was on my bucket list and lives up to the original hype). We returned back home and were once again back into the flurry of being parents to three boys, returning to work, and picking back up routines.
But if I’m being honest … in the last few years since I went to jail, I’ve been feeling like my soul is tired
The running joke around my house is that if I’m ever asked if I’m tired then my response will always be “I’m always tired.” I learned my parents sometime during my college years that they never had to fret after bringing me home from the hospital. I’ve been told that within a week of being home that I started sleeping the whole night and even had to be woken up the next morning. I even remember a time in high school when I was so exhausted from everything that I slept for an entire day like I went to bed before dinner one night and didn’t wake up until the next night at dinner.
You might think that’s true exhaustion or carrying the load being a wife and mother, working outside of the home, volunteering in children’s ministry and on the prayer team at church, working towards my Masters in Divinity degree, spending time with friends, participating in local community groups, or the other list of items that make up my day to day routines. It’s funny because I would even venture to say that those things are good things but I’m thinking of something more.
There are days when everything feels heavier than usual (and I’m not talking about my actual depression). It can feel like my mind is jumbled, my heart is weary, and my soul feels like I’m going to need something more than a handful of espresso jolts to shake me back to life.
Friends, it would seem contrite to easily bandage this up by saying that even Jesus grew weary. But He did.
Scripture reminds us that he prayed, wept, hungered, and even cried out upon facing death. He was drained but Jesus shows us what to do when we feel empty—run, limp, crawl to the Father.
Matthew 11:28–29 (NIV)
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
This empty place in which we find ourselves is an invitation of rest, but also so much more.
Don’t try to add more to your to-do list or inch on another day lying to yourself that everything is okay when it’s not.
Burnout isn’t just physical—it’s spiritual too. Let Him refill what’s been drained.
Not all at once, but gently.
Daily. Faithfully.
A Question for You
What if your emptiness isn’t a failure—but an invitation to let God fill the spaces you’ve been trying to carry alone?
A Word of Hope
When you’re heavy and your soul pants for water not of this world
May we accept the invitation of Jesus to draw near again to His side
May new life be breathed into your bones and all empty spaces
Stop striving and wrap yourself in grace
This place will always be free. If you’re inclined to keep helping me fuel my words with caffeine and compassion, you can fund my java runs.
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If this resonated with you, feel free to drop a 🤎, leave a comment, or share it forward. Grateful to have you here.
So true!!
My extended family relationships are challenging right now; I visited my mom in long term care the end of February and came home emotionally and spiritually spent. Parked my Substack activity entirely, posted a few old posts over Lent, read a few other articles, no real strength to think and comment until recently…just needed a break…love the Matthew 11 verses, “…and you shall find rest unto your soul.”