It’s been a tough week for me as I recovered physically from another trip to the East Coast. I worked long hours ahead of the trip to make room for time to be away, then worked long hours after I returned to catch back up. I “spent” more energy than I had in my “account” – the result is feeling overdrawn and penalized for insufficient funds by a lingering cough. This isn’t the first time for me, and I suspect the same has happened to you.
My Mysterious Mind
In the past year I have battled allergies and the secondary problems they brought. This overdrawn physical condition is unfamiliar to me. For most of my life I have been rarely sick. As a college student, I remember getting sick about twice a year, right after finals. During my young adult years, I was seldon sick more than once a year, usually late in the winter season. Then there was the occasional bug I’d catch from being around a sick nephew or grandchild. I’d rest for a few days and bounce back completely.
What has been happening in recent months is different. I’ve been sick more often and the recovery each time has been slow. Visits to my doctor, typically only once a year wellness exams for most of my life, have happened several times. Previously someone who didn’t take medication, now I am a regular user of a list of OTC items, all for allergy management. With my recent return from another trip to the East Coast to visit two of my children and their families, I succumbed again to secondary respiratory issues due to allergies.
While resting and hoping for recovery, I have been reflecting on whatever lesson there might be in my worsened physical condition. What can this sickness teach me?
First, I realized I am allergic to the East Coast. Some people have seasonal allergies, I have a regional one. My allergies worsen quickly upon arrival in the new zone. My Missouri-adapted resistance is no match for whatever allergens await me in Maryland and DC. I can be fine when I leave home and a respiratory disaster shortly after touchdown. Breathing in the East is a hazard for me. Unfortunately, not breathing would be more hazardous, as would not visiting the people I love.
The other realization is that my allergies flare up when I am physically overdrawn. Like being penalized for writing a check on an account with insufficient funds, my body penalizes me for demanding more than it has on reserve. In the world of checking accounts, I always thought it a bit odd to be charged for checks that weren’t covered by funds. This created a “double-whammy” for someone in financial distress; not enough money to cover the check and now additional money owed in penalties.
Most banks offer overdraft protection. Insufficient funds are covered by another account or by a credit card, providing protection from overdraft penalties. I’m wondering what that could look like for me. I am not going to stop going to the East Coast, especially because I have another grandchild arriving in December. But I also don’t want to keep losing big chunks of my life to illness.
What happens to you when you are overdrawn? How are you penalized for insufficient funds? Better yet, how can you get overdraft protection?
Message of Mystery Acres
What does the forest teach me about being overdrawn? If I arrive there at risk of being penalized for insufficient funds, I leave with a healthier balance in my accounts. Mystery Acres is a place of deposits, not a place of withdrawals. Which makes me wonder about what parts of my life are draining my personal funds, and which parts are making deposits. And are there places that do some of each? Mystery Acres is unique in that it is only a place of deposits for me.
Well, that isn’t entirely true. Trips to Mystery Acres require withdrawals of time and energy to get there and some recovery time afterwards from unpacking and such. But the overall balance is clearly shifted in the positive column. Which makes me think about the parts of my life where the balance is shifted in the negative column, where withdrawals exceed deposits. Such had become the case for my previous job, which is why it became vital for my well-being to leave. There are withdrawals at my new job, but the deposits far exceed the drain.
Relationships can be similarly assessed. No relationship is completely draining or enriching. Even the best relationship has its withdrawals. And, a difficult relationship, though predominantly draining, has its rewards. I think of caring for a dying loved one or a spouse deteriorating with dementia. These are withdrawal-heavy relationships, but there are deposits being made into our hearts as well. Similarly, a typically-wonderful relationship has its withdrawal moments, times of hurt or frustration.
The message of Mystery Acres is to consider the overarching impact on our balance sheet of experiences and relationships in our lives. Withdrawals of emotional investment and energy are normal, even in the best of jobs or friendships. The forest, though magical and amazing, demands some cost to be there. The worst of jobs or relationships, though taxing our resources, is also providing deposits, and not just the financial kind. As we examine the pattern of withdrawals and deposits from the various parts of our lives, what is happening to our overall bottom line?
Ancient Mystery’s Voice
“The Lord said, ‘My grace is sufficient for you.’” (2 Cor. 12:9)
There’s an argument Paul has with the Lord, one he documented in a letter to the believers in Corinth. Paul repeatedly begged for something he described as a “thorn” to be removed from him. Essentially, Paul was insisting he couldn’t take it anymore, referring to the difficulty as a “messenger of Satan” sent to torment him. Talk about being dramatic!
Sometimes, when we ask the Lord to remove some difficulty from our lives, He says, “Sure, let me get that for you.” That doesn’t always happen for us, and it didn’t happen for whatever Paul was agonizing about. The Lord didn’t say, “No problem. I can see that is more than you can handle so I’ll just remove it.” Instead, He left the difficulty and told Paul to turn to Him in his weakness.
No matter how insufficient Paul believed he was in handling the affliction, the Lord said His grace was sufficient to help him. He added the phrase, “for My power is made perfect in weakness.”
This sounds like some kind of spiritual overdraft protection. When the withdrawals of life exceed our available resources, there are sufficient funds to cover the deficit. Paul, like us, need only activate the coverage. This reminds me of an account I recently opened. I declined overdraft protection because I planned to always keep a healthy minimum in the account. I’ll probably be OK with having declined coverage for that account, but it’s not a good idea to waive access to spiritual overdraft protection.
The Lord didn’t want Paul to depend only on himself, turning for help on his own terms. Rather, Paul was given a chance to learn to depend on the Lord during his overdrawn times. That protection for insufficient funds has no limit but it requires setting aside one’s own pride of self-sufficiency to access it.
Living in Mystery
What does it mean to live in the mystery of being overdrawn and penalized for insufficient funds? First, it means listening to any illnesses that result from being overdrawn. Deposits falling short of withdrawals lead to insufficient energy and can result in penalties such as sickness. Not all illnesses are the result of being overdrawn, but examining the timing and pattern of illness can provide clues if insufficient emotional or energy funds are the problem. My recurring pattern of illness this past year started during the time when our dog Ollie was struggling for his life. Grief caused me to be emotionally overdrawn; frequent trips to the emergency vet at the beginning and end of consecutive days drained my physical reservoir. In the subsequent months I made repeated trips to the East Coast and to Indiana. These trips were for joyous reasons, to welcome and support the arrival of two grandchildren, however, the physical strain of so much travel taxed my ability to replenish my reserve energy. I’d barely get rested before I’d make another trip. I don’t regret the overextension of myself, but I am pondering the wisdom of future travel and the need for buffer zones of recovery. Have you been sick recently? There might be something to learn from the illness and its possible source of insufficient funds.
Second, it’s important to realize that becoming sick might not be the first sign of impending overdraft. When emotional or physical “funds” are low, symptoms of irritation or resentment signal a warning that increased deposits are needed, or withdrawals should stop. Though not overdraft protection, per se, such reactions can warn of insufficient emotional funds. Heeding them could prevent becoming overdrawn and penalized with illness or other serious complications.
Are you getting warning signals of irritation or resentment? If so, there are ways to improve the level of “funds” and prevent becoming overdrawn, specifically, increase deposits, decrease withdrawals, or allow your accounts to recharge. These adjustments are much like effective budgeting of money. Where are you being energized physically and emotionally? Are you getting enough rest and recreation? Increasing the ways your “funds” are raised will help prevent overdraft. Similarly, where are your physical and emotional resources being drained? Are you putting time and energy into something and getting little to nothing in return? What might it look like to eliminate some of these “bills” so that your “accounts” aren’t depleted?
In addition to the options of increasing deposits or limiting withdrawals when you are running low on funds, consider allowing time for your accounts to recharge. Like avoiding shopping until the end of the month when the paycheck hits your account, sometimes we can recharge our physical and emotional accounts by taking a break from whatever is draining us. If you, like me, are having problems with insufficient emotional and physical funds, consider what draining activities or relationships you could pause until you recharge.
As an old mom to young parents, I suggest you take inventory of the “funds” you have available for your children. Are you getting warning signs of irritation or resentment about the time and energy you need for parenting? If so, heed these signs and make adjustments, either increasing deposits, decreasing withdrawals elsewhere, or allotting more time for recharging. Good parenting requires a marathon of investment; make sure your overall portfolio can handle the drain. It isn’t fair to your children to be resentful or irritated by what their lives require of you. In the end, raising well-adjusted children pays rich dividends of joy into your life.
Are irritation, resentment, or illness warning you of insufficient funds in your life? Examine the overall impact of withdrawals and deposits and consider where adjustments might be warranted. A break from whatever is draining you will help to recharge your emotional and physical accounts but more strategic increases of whatever builds you up or reductions of excessive demands might be wise. And, through it all, remember there is overdraft protection available from the One whose resources are unlimited; you need only to authorize access.
Connecting with Mystery
Dear Lord of All Mystery, I confess to being overdrawn. I have given more time and energy than I have available and have not turned to You for help. Help me pause for a time of recharging. Show me where I would be wise to limit withdrawals or raise deposits in my life. Thank You for offering Your unlimited overdraft protection. Help me surrender my self-sufficiency so I can access the grace and strength You offer. Amen.
Notes from Dr. Mac
If you want to do your own investigation of any of the scriptures I use, I suggest you go to Bible Gateway. This free online version of the Bible allows a search of words or phrases in various translations. I suggest you read Paul’s argument with God about what was draining him in 2 Corinthians chapter twelve.
You can find previous posts of my work at my ARCHIVE and organized compilations in the My Books section. You can also find Mystery’s Voice on Spotify.
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