Recovery Time

My Garmin running watch died a while back so I replaced it.  My new watch is the Suunto Ambit2 and I really like it.  It has a few extra features that are pretty cool.  One is at the end of a run when I'm reviewing all my data.  It is called "Recovery Time."  It looks at what I just did and suggests how many hours it will take to recover from that effort.

I think the suggested recovery time is pretty accurate.  One day last week I ran a very hilly route.  My suggested recovery time was 32 hours.  I got up to run the next morning and was very sore.  Yesterday morning I ran 10 miles.  My suggested recovery time was 53 hours.  I decided today was a good day for a rest day!

We all need recovery time.  We live in a busy world.  It seems we never slow down.  Jesus told his disciples in Mark 6:31, "Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat."  They weren't busy with soccer practice or shopping the latest sales, they had just returned from an evangelistic endeavor, having gone out in twos.  Their enthusiasm was high, but they still needed recovery time.

It is easy to fall into the "Martha Trap" - always doing, doing, doing.  There was nothing wrong with what she was doing, but Jesus told her "one thing is needful."  A huge clue that we are in need of some recovery time is when we start looking around and complaining about what others aren't doing. 

Your house may not be spotless everyday, someone else may need to teach that Sunday school class for a month, you might not blog for a week or two...  and you will probably feel guilty about it!  But know that you will be better after recovery time.  And there is no greater recovery time than when we sit at Jesus feet.