Be Like Jesus: Go Away to Rest and Pray

Caroline Godin considers the importance of short personal retreats to maintain her own well-being while caring for her family.

The report about Him spread all the more, and great crowds assembled to listen to Him and to be cured of their ailments, but He would withdraw to deserted places to pray. (Luke 5:15-16)

I never understood this verse as much as I do now. I imagine Jesus was exhausted of all the children of God coming to Him for help. Several times, we read in the Bible that Jesus went away to pray or rest.

My three children have plenty of needs great and small—often small—and demand my attention all day long. My little guy will seemingly wait for me to be in the bathroom before needing an emergency juice fix. My teen daughter will be silent all day until near midnight, and then swarm me with philosophical and existential questions. I kid you not, this kid can go on for hours, but her timing is something else. My teen boy will typically tell me about an event the same day or wait until we’re leaving for a pool party to declare he’s grown out of all his bathing suits. Yup, happened last month.

Most parents can relate to one or more of those situations. I’m sure Jesus can too. All the people were as little children to Him swarming Him with needs and questions. In the time He had on earth, He needed to go away and rest and pray once in a while. He even encouraged the same for His disciples after all their hard work in Mark 6:30-32.

We live in a linear world with deadlines, due dates, many responsibilities, and a limited amount of energy. In short, we need rest. Jesus needed rest too. That’s why He retreated from those He loves to pray apart from them.

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When I feel overwhelmed or exhausted from all my kids’ demands and questions, I use this piece of encouragement to confidently say, “Mama needs a break. Let me go [insert need here] and I’ll be back soon.” I might need to pause my racing around to eat, pee, or just sit, but I need to rest and take care of myself for a moment. Sometimes I do what I need to do right in front of them and sometimes I literally go away, but I do it.

I’ve realized the need for self-care more in these years of my life than I did when I was younger. I felt strong and could power through, but I didn’t realize how little I was carrying then. Now I’m older, carrying more, and (hopefully) wiser. I take time to step away from my beloved children and recoup from the insanity. Even if only for five minutes, it’s so helpful.

In my rest, I may pray or just sit with God. Sometimes there are no coherent words. It’s like sitting with a friend and sharing an exhausted look. He knows. He sees me and hears what my heart cannot always put into words. My prayers are sometimes spot on when I know exactly what to pray, but sometimes I’m just too flooded. In those moments, all I can muster is mentally pointing to something or someone stressing me out. “That, Lord. Help me do the right thing with that situation.”

Click to tweet:
In my rest, I may pray or just sit with God. It’s like sitting with a friend and sharing an exhausted look. He knows. #CatholicMom

Mamas (and dads and other caregivers), don’t ever feel guilty needing to step away for a moment of retreat. These kids are exhausting but they’re worth it. If Jesus needed to retreat, it’s okay for you as well. Perhaps in seeing one’s parents take a moment of personal rest, we may teach our children its importance so they can learn self-care too.

You got this. Breathe. Rest. Pray. Repeat.

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