Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Burn Out - Andrew Ascough

I'm all but gone

I knew going into this school year that burn out was going to be something I would have to actively work to avoid, and I was fairly certain it was going to come earlier than "normal" (for reference, March is a really long month... so is May... in the best of times). There's nothing normal about this school year as a teacher, or really any profession I'm told. School is just what I know. Teachers had a rough spring. And then for many of us we didn't really take a "summer break" - we went to trainings, we read blogs, we spent hours making bitmoji virtual classrooms (because they're cute, fun, give you more personality to the kids, and a stress reliever...but they're still work). Maybe we spent hours recording video to help get "ahead" before the school year started this fall. Whatever we did - many of us lost ourselves.

Ransom me from my captive, I’m all but gone

So stuck. So held hostage. The constant bings and pings and beeps that mean you have a new email. A new assignment to grade. A new parent to help. A new student with a question. And when everything is online, those bings and pings come at odd hours, and it is so easy to think that you should answer them right now because why not - the computer is here, and the student needs me. The expectation is that I help when they need help. The client comes first.

Ransom me from my captive, I’m all but gone
And I don’t know where I came from

So lost. Where did I come from? Where are you God?

Ransom me from my captive, I’m all but gone
And I don’t know where I came from
I’ve forgotten my home

As I get caught up in the negative emotions around me, the storyline of conflict, tensions, fear, the emotional climate of distrust, I find myself thirsty; I've forgotten my home. I've forgotten where the water comes from, who brings it, where to find it. I look for it on social media (newsflash: I haven't found it there), I look for it in the news. Lost, I forget where to turn to find living water.

I don’t want to fall and
I would give it all just to know You again
Oh, just to know You again

'Cause my heart burns out for You, oh
And the darkness has no hand on me now
Protected by Your blood
And called as Your own
I will find my way home

The burning yearning thirst inside me craves knowing the one who will fill that hole. The one who will ease all the tensions, gives light to my feet and my path. The one who has called me His own. He is the only one who can bring that.

Protected by Your blood
And called as Your own
You will guide me home
You will guide me home

Protected by His blood He will guide me home. 

Burn out is real. But. It's not forever. Our hearts burn out, yes, but in that we can find the reset button. Let your burn out drive you to realizing your need for Him. Rest in the protection of His blood. He will guide you home!


I don’t see You right now
And my heart is breaking down
I need to know Your mercy
Ransom me from my captive, I’m all but gone
And I don’t know where I came from
I’ve forgotten my home
Oh, I’ve forgotten my home

I don’t want to fall and
I would give it all just to know You again
Oh, just to know You again

'Cause my heart burns out for You, oh
And the darkness has no hand on me now
Protected by Your blood
And called as Your own
I will find my way home

Cure me of the shadows in which I was born
And how me what my heart is truly for
I wish nothing for myself
Oh, nothing for myself
Nothing I have could ever be more
Than You, my Creator, whom I adore
I renounce my ways
For it’s in Your refuge I’ll stay

I don’t want to fall and
I would give it all just to know You again
Oh, just to know You again

'Cause my heart burns out for You, oh
And the darkness has no hand on me now
Protected by Your blood
And called as Your own
I will find my way home

Protected by Your blood
And called as Your own
You will guide me home
You will guide me home

No comments:

Post a Comment