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I’m exhausted.

On Monday mornings, when I sit to write this column, I begin with what’s at the top of my heart. After four days of watching four granddaughters, “I’m exhausted,” is all I’ve got.

Well, almost all.

Backstory – Lauren competed in a CrossFit event on the beach in Pensacola. She actually paid to do burpees in the sand. Granddaughters Olivia, Charlie and Caroline moved in with Michael and me while their parents toured Nashville.

Thursday went well, although Charlie sprinkled red pepper instead of cinnamon on her pancakes. We even managed homework that night.

Because they had all participated in the minicamp during the summer, Friday they cheered and danced at the SCC football game. Four-year-old Caroline fell, and cleaning her wounds wasn’t fun. Nor were there instructions for that in the four pages of notes Monique left.

Saturday, we packed swimsuits and bandages (“In case I fall in some more rocks,” Caroline said.), joined 13 other people, and moved the party to Margaritaville in Biloxi. If I didn’t have more fun than the kids, it was close.

Laundry was Sunday’s agenda while homework assigned over the weekend was forgotten. Now I’m tired, but I don’t want to take time to rest. It comforts me to remember that rest is God’s idea, and He modeled it right at the beginning of His Book. “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work,” Genesis 2:2.

God built into the framework of our lives the need for rest and refreshing. Rest should be part of the rhythm of our lives, not a luxury we indulge in only when exhausted.

Whatever circumstance you find yourself in today, it’s perfectly okay to include time to rest.

Ronny Michel may be reached at rmichel@rtconline.com.