Learning From Eutychus

Sometimes you don’t even realize how much you need restoration until someone comments. Today, it was my yawning before church that drew several comments and made me realize I’d probably overdone this week. As any mom knows, all you have to do to get your kids attention is to sit down and look comfortable. Unlike Eutychus, the young man who fell asleep listening to Paul (Acts 20:9-10), I was restored by the worship service and went home determined to let God further the restoration process by spending the rest of the afternoon sitting out on the back porch. The day was gorgeous and I couldn’t change out of my church clothes fast enough!

In her book “Jesus, Life Coach,” Laurie Beth Jones talks about the need to “guard and respect your fragile things” and that is exactly what I set out to do this afternoon. Who knows? Perhaps Eutychus wasn’t so much bored with what Paul was talking about as he was worn out with living. Maybe it was the first time he’d slowed down all week.

A book I read a long time ago, which featured an entry by Luci Swindoll, talked about some missionaries who became very frustrated at their inability to get the indigenous population to put in a full day’s work. After one particularly full day, native workers sat down, refusing to budge, and explained, “It is not wise to go so rapidly. We must stop and wait here for our souls to catch up with our bodies.”

Unfortunately, I think I drag my soul along behind me most of the week. Today, I stopped long enough to let it catch up.