Too Tired for church today


Tamiele
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This week was a tough one for me. Hormones coupled with my daily responsibilities took a tole. My wonderful husband when he saw me in tears yesterday, for the 4th time this week, decided to pack up the kids and go and visit his brother for the night and all of today. When I went to bed I had fully intended to go to church today, as I know it is the commandment to take the Sacrament and I also wanted to help with the music in Relief Society - as that is my calling. Now that I have come alive here this morning - I feel so beat and wanting to sleep, I have made that decision to stay home. I do this when I feel this way. Sunday's I always feel very relaxed and just want to stay put. I need advice as to how to get in the mindset that going to church should be sacrificed for, no matter what - unless I or one of the kids are ill then we would need to stay home. I want to hear some testimonies regarding the Sabath. Church attendance and honoring the Sabath...are two things that I can't say I have a strong testimony of. Pretty rigid on the rest of it - tithing, word of wisdom, etc. Any feedback would be wonderful. I want to set a good example for my kids...how to do that when I don't have the discipline to go myself.

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I'm sorry you are feeling overwhelmed. Church attendence is something my husband and I are workin on as well. We too are staying home-although it is because we spent all day in the ER yesterday with our toddler because he couldn't breath...he is much better but needs breathing treatments every 4 hours. However, we are tempted to do all of our shopping today since we didn't get anything done yesterday-and that certainly isn't necessary.

Really, we just force ourselves to go even when it's a hassel and we are exhausted...I feel once I'm there I really glad I made the decision to go. I think everyone has there struggles-just because yours maybe different from others doesn't make yours worse or better. I think I read somewhere that you are a convert? I am too, my baptism was about 2 months ago. I live in Utah where obviously there are many here who have been members all there lives and have been eating sleeping breathing the commandments-that it seems like they have it all together. But I believe that we all have our struggles-whether people can see them or not. Heavanly Father knows your heart and loves you. Be prayerfull and don't torment yourself.

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About two years ago I began to find reasons to stay home from church, I didn't feel like I had a good relationship with Christ and I figured if I had time to myself at home I could figure it out myself. Time passed and church became less and less important. This eventually led to both myself and my husband becoming inactive. It also led to me sinning in ways I normally would not have if I had the church in my life on a weekly basis. Missing one Sunday here and one Sunday there may not seem like such a big deal, but it begins to add up. Going to church and partaking of the Sacrament is an important way to recharge our spiritual batteries.

Because of the choices I made while I was inactive it resulted in me not being able to take the Sacrament for a year. When the year was finally up and I was able to take the Sacrament again it was such a sweet and wonderful experience. It made me realize how much you don't appreciate something until you no longer have it.

Waking up and getting to church every Sunday can be difficult, it is something I very well understand. However, the spiritual risk you place yourself in is not worth missing the services. If you really feel like you don't want to be there, then just go to Sacrament meeting, and then see how you feel about attending the rest of the meetings after Sacrament is over.

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Each person has to find their own motivation in life. Life can drag out. If you don't find motivation then the reasons for doing something get lost.

But the same holds true for the big three, praying, reading Scriptures, and going to church. The reason you do things can be different for each person, but really they are a commandment as you said, isn't that a good enough reason to do them? (God asked you to)

Now because we know God asked us, it now comes down to faith to do it. Faith is performing an act not knowing fully the results.

The other side is also true, I think we have to realize Satan does try to get us to move away from the spirit. The spirit to me is the great motivator. When you feel the spirit you want to feel it again. That doesn't mean that every time you go to church ARE going to fill the spirit, it means every time you go to church you SHOULD feel the spirit.

Satan doesn't want this. We can see why.

For me the biggest reason I go to church is to feel the spirit. But even more for me, it seems like they batteries get recharged so to speak (I have heard other people use that term). It’s a time for me to stop thinking about myself and think about others, think about how I can help them, how I can get close to Christ, how I can get to the Celestial Kingdom. Thats what church is for.

I'm sure when the apostasy all started people stopped coming to church. Personal apostasy happens the same way.

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Did something different today. Usually put of Church clothes right before going, but today I did it several hours early. Hope I don't spill all over myself in the meantime. If I do, I assume they will be understanding of diet cola stains.

When I first started back to Church, I attended rain or shine. Now I don't go if I am sick. Sort of a courtesy to everyone else.

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Tamiele, thank you for your honesty. I know it can be difficult to get to church sometimes, especially when you feel drained physically, emotionally, or even spiritually. The first thought that came to my mind was the words of the Savior when He testified that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. I can testify that this is so true!! I just got home from church today feeling so uplifted and strengthened. I don't go to church because it is a commandment, but because it is an essential blessing in my life. When I focus on truly repenting and preparing for the sacrament every week I feel such a strength from the power of the atonement. I feel God's love, approval, and help to improve my life and to more fully keep my covenants with Him.

I have no reservations in promising you that if you will make the effort to attend church that it will no longer seem like a sacrifice, but a blessing in your life. When you find it hard to go, that is when you need it the most. Often Satan works hardest on us when he knows we are about to receive the greatest blessings. I am SO thankful for Christ's atonement, and that is the real spirit behind the Sabbath: to partake of the Christ's love and atonement for us, and to recommit our life to Him. This cannot be done without the ordinance of the sacrament. God loves you. He wants you to take advantage of this priceless gift every week. May God bless you

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Maybe you are in a depression?

You don't have to be suicidal or manic to be depressed. Sometimes depression comes in forms of lack in motivation, no desire to start or complete tasks, wanting to sleep away worries and responsibilities. I'm not diagnosing you. But if you've been feeling this way for a while, perhaps it's time to get checked out by a doctor and see what's going on? You could be experiencing a hormonal imbalance or a mood disorder that hasn't been addressed before? Just a thought.

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Actually I do battle with depression. The people in my ward are aware of it too. I have taken anti-depressants in the past but have come to the conclusion that it is my negative thinking that gets me into trouble so I am trying to cope without meds. This week, extra hormones, brings out the worst in me. I just hope people understand the ups and downs...don't see it changing until the "change".

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I have some pretty heavy duty physical challenges that I won't go into. If I'm exhausted like you are feeling today, I don't go to church. but I also figure if I'm too sick to go to church, I'm sick to go running around.

Today was the first day in two months that I've not been so worn out and overwhelmed with physical pain that I actually made it to SS and RS. I just took my time as I walked around and reminded myself I don't need to rush. I relaxed and enjoyed my day.

I'm not going to preach to you that you should be in your meetings. I can't say that going to church keeps me from making mistakes and I can't really say it doesn't. I've had people try to guilt me or compel me to go and I just rebel. I don't go because the Lord wants me to or that it's my obligation.

I know, I'm being a bad influence right? Well, I'm going to church when I can and when I feel well and I go to enjoy myself. Not because its a commandment to go but because being there, now for me is a chance to see some of my friends.

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Actually I do battle with depression. The people in my ward are aware of it too. I have taken anti-depressants in the past but have come to the conclusion that it is my negative thinking that gets me into trouble so I am trying to cope without meds. This week, extra hormones, brings out the worst in me. I just hope people understand the ups and downs...don't see it changing until the "change".

Is there something in your environment that's pulling you down, because almost without fail, all of my Canadian friends battle with one form of depression or another.

Can I share with you what helps me?

I try to go outside in the fresh air at least ten minutes a day and if there's sun--15. I also make sure I do something that makes me laugh. Youtube is a great place to find laughter.

And 15 minutes of walking about your house or yard is really good too. It's not a lot but it lifts my spirits. And I try to eat six small meals a day to keep my blood sugar level (which helps a lot with hormones)

I also find that learning something new has made me feel a heck of a lot better. I have people who ask me if I suffer from depression but I suffer from a lot of pain and fatigue which is extremely discouraging. I cope better when I do what I shared with you.

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Actually I do battle with depression. The people in my ward are aware of it too. I have taken anti-depressants in the past but have come to the conclusion that it is my negative thinking that gets me into trouble so I am trying to cope without meds. This week, extra hormones, brings out the worst in me. I just hope people understand the ups and downs...don't see it changing until the "change".

UGH the dreadful "change". Hang in there :]

But remember, if you can't cope and the depression is affecting your quality of life, it's time to see your doctor. No one wants to be on Meds, I certainly wish I didn't have to take them for my Bipolar but being somewhat sane is far better than being completely out of your mind. Take care of yourself and good vibes headed your way.

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I wondered about how to respond to this thread. There was one time of my life that I did not attend church. It was not a choice but a condition. I was serving in the military and there was no church to attend. There were a few other LDS that I knew but they were struggling with honoring many important principles of LDS covenants. This was a time of difficulty for me trying to reconcile the pain, suffering and death among those I associated with.

Many in this circumstance tried to find safety in things contrary to my religious upbringing. Drunkenness and immorality seemed to be the most popular social interactions. So many rebelled against G-d and principles of righteous living. It was one time when I was alone in this world except for the spirit of the L-rd. No one that I associated with or could associate with sought divine peace. Just communicating with anyone was filled with vile and horrible vocabulary that was a defilement of everything sacred. It seemed that spiritual failure was the only option. I lived with it all and with many otherwise good people trying so hard to get through the time and circumstance.

When I was able to again attend church – it was such a relief. I guess I do not understand the notion that during times of distress that anyone would not seek refuge among the saints of G-d. For me, I would rather give up the riches and pleasures of the world than to be separated ever again from the saints and where they gather.

The Traveler

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I wondered about how to respond to this thread. There was one time of my life that I did not attend church. It was not a choice but a condition. I was serving in the military and there was no church to attend. There were a few other LDS that I knew but they were struggling with honoring many important principles of LDS covenants. This was a time of difficulty for me trying to reconcile the pain, suffering and death among those I associated with.

Many in this circumstance tried to find safety in things contrary to my religious upbringing. Drunkenness and immorality seemed to be the most popular social interactions. So many rebelled against G-d and principles of righteous living. It was one time when I was alone in this world except for the spirit of the L-rd. No one that I associated with or could associate with sought divine peace. Just communicating with anyone was filled with vile and horrible vocabulary that was a defilement of everything sacred. It seemed that spiritual failure was the only option. I lived with it all and with many otherwise good people trying so hard to get through the time and circumstance.

When I was able to again attend church – it was such a relief. I guess I do not understand the notion that during times of distress that anyone would not seek refuge among the saints of G-d. For me, I would rather give up the riches and pleasures of the world than to be separated ever again from the saints and where they gather.

The Traveler

Thank you. I learn from posts like this and the other comments that have been made, I am grateful.

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I guess I do not understand the notion that during times of distress that anyone would not seek refuge among the saints of G-d. For me, I would rather give up the riches and pleasures of the world than to be separated ever again from the saints and where they gather.

The Traveler

I can understand how you feel and I also understand your inability to understand those who seek a safe harbor away from the saints. To each his own in difficult times. If you are a person who takes great solace in the company of others then it works for you. I am like that at times and other times, my physical affliction can be too great and I stay quietly sequestered within the confines of my home.
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Uh oh. You're not planning to take the sacrament, are you?

:) Diet cola unfortunately does not nourish and strengthen the body when I drink it, but I was fasting anyway. It quenches the thirst for my physical body, but other fruit is needed by my spirit.

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:) Diet cola unfortunately does not nourish and strengthen the body when I drink it, but I was fasting anyway. It quenches the thirst for my physical body, but other fruit is needed by my spirit.

That a faithful member would DARE drink diet cola and still pretend to be a faithful, active member is pure and unadulterated heresy.

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You can not be happy away from God, for it is HIM who defines happiness. We can seek euphoria and ecstasy thru thrills and intoxication with the ever growing need for more edgy and dangerous activities to achieve such emotional states. But we will never be happy involved in (whatever) activities away from, and at times, contrary to the will of God.

In the distant past, I walked thru very "promising" paths and what seemed, at the time, very worthy endeavors. Inspite of the public acceptance and accolade for my achievements I could not find happiness. It eluded me until I found and embraced the Gospel. Excluding medical conditions, depression is symptom with underlying causes varied and complex but always evidence of our distance from our Heavenly Father.

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I can understand how you feel and I also understand your inability to understand those who seek a safe harbor away from the saints. To each his own in difficult times. If you are a person who takes great solace in the company of others then it works for you. I am like that at times and other times, my physical affliction can be too great and I stay quietly sequestered within the confines of my home.

I have my Zen times when I need to be alone and find spiritual input but when I feel surrounded by enemies I personally seek a safe harbor with the strength of the saints of G-d. I can understand missing some church meetings but not ever turning from my Sabbath covenants. I would seek a priesthood blessing every week before considering forfeiting the opportunity of covenantal renewal in the sacrament to remember Christ, take upon me his name and have his spirit to be with me.

It is having his spirit to be with me by covenant that is of up most importance to me – especially when I am being spiritually buffeted. I do not understand why anyone would willingly want to face any spiritual challenge without the covenant promise of his spirit to be with them.

The Traveler

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Good evening Tamiele. It is a pleasure to meet you! :)

I need advice as to how to get in the mindset that going to church should be sacrificed for, no matter what - unless I or one of the kids are ill then we would need to stay home. I want to hear some testimonies regarding the Sabath. Church attendance and honoring the Sabath...are two things that I can't say I have a strong testimony of. Pretty rigid on the rest of it - tithing, word of wisdom, etc. Any feedback would be wonderful. I want to set a good example for my kids...how to do that when I don't have the discipline to go myself.

I want to share with you an experience that I had. As you read you may initially think what does home teaching have to do with church attendance, but I promise I will try to tie the two together in the end!

I remember not too long ago whenever I would get a new home teaching list I would look at it with a certain feeling of trepidation. I guess the best way to describe my feelings was: "Here is another list of things that I have to "worry" about in my life." Anyways, the idea was that I wasn't very excited at all about home teaching. Because I felt that visiting all of these people on my home teaching list was too cumbersome and time consuming I would only make a halfhearted effort each month, if even that, to visit my families. Of course I couldn't escape the feelings of guilt that I felt. I would try to ignore them but I knew I wasn't doing and being as I should and this only increased my annoyance and stress. I was like, "Man, why can't I just not have to worry about home teaching so that I can have some peace of mind!" And so all of this would just make me less and less motivated to do home teaching.

However, I have never been able to just completely shrug off that sense of duty and responsibility to live up to my baptismal and temple covenants. When finally that sense of duty and ultimately a desire in me to be a disciple of Christ kicked in I grudgingly made a commitment to start visiting my families consistently. In the beginning it wasn't easy and I constantly found a million things to keep me away from visiting or to procrastinate but I gritted my teeth and went anyways. As I continued to visit my families month after month things started to slowly change. I soon grew to know the families better as I visited them. I began to enjoy the company of my companion. And as I began to know these families better I began to sincerely love them and become concerned for them. As this happened all those negative feelings of being encumbered with having to "deal" with these families began to fade. That feeling of dreading to go home teaching left me and I felt excited about going each month because I was going to visit friends, I felt that I mattered to my families and I wanted to be there for them so that I could help them.

I've reflected on this experience and I've wondered to myself what was it that led to this change of heart? This scripture comes to mind:

And it shall come to pass, that inasmuch as [you] are faithful, and exercise faith in me, I will pour out my Spirit upon [you]...

For me, as I began to exercise faith in those promises that God has made concerning keeping His commandments, I began to receive strength. I started out only going because of a sense of guilt, duty, and responsibility. But as I consistently and regularly did my home teaching despite my negative feelings about it God began to bless me and He changed my heart and what once was a cumbersome chore became a delight and a joy to me. Now this couldn't have happened if I had remained slothful and derelict. I know that if I had remained slothful and had not exercised my faith and my diligence than I would not have progressed (Alma 37:41).

Now even though my particular experience here had to do with home teaching the same principles apply to any commandment or requirement that Heavenly Father asks of us. Sometimes doing the right thing is hard and we don't want to do it. It can cause us feelings of stress and feel like it is a burden. Nonetheless if we truly are desirous to serve God and be true disciples of Jesus Christ we will take upon us that burden of following Christ, who promised: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matt. 11:28-30). But we will only experience this blessing if we exercise our faith by diligently and consistently obeying His commandments and this includes diligently and consistently going to church.

I know that God blesses us when we exercise our faith and He will bless you as well and bring about "...a mighty change...in [your] heart" and a change in "mindset", as you put it, and going to church will become easy, joyous, and something you will look forward to each week (Mosiah 5:2).

Kind Regards,

Finrock

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I have my Zen times when I need to be alone and find spiritual input but when I feel surrounded by enemies I personally seek a safe harbor with the strength of the saints of G-d. I can understand missing some church meetings but not ever turning from my Sabbath covenants. I would seek a priesthood blessing every week before considering forfeiting the opportunity of covenantal renewal in the sacrament to remember Christ, take upon me his name and have his spirit to be with me.

It is having his spirit to be with me by covenant that is of up most importance to me – especially when I am being spiritually buffeted. I do not understand why anyone would willingly want to face any spiritual challenge without the covenant promise of his spirit to be with them.

The Traveler

I also flee to the safe haven of the saints when things get gnarly.

But there are times when I haven't felt I was safe among the saints either.

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I also flee to the safe haven of the saints when things get gnarly.

But there are times when I haven't felt I was safe among the saints either.

I have enjoyed reading your post and feel that you have much to offer - I am assuming that even when you do not feel safe that your strength could make the difference with someone else that also does not feel safe. You may be less intemmidating than someone like me. Maybe the L-rd could do things, even among the saints, with you that he could not do with anyone else.

The Traveler

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