A thesaurus might say that another description of ‘tired’ is weary.
I can understand why they would do something like that. This blog entry is not to pick a fight with the thesaurus. Be that as it may, I would suggest, from experience, a key difference between the two terms.
Tired is something you feel after a stint of applying a lot of energy to something, sometimes over an extended period of time. You should be tired after a day of heavy lifting and shifting. You should be tired after a mentally exhausting session of administration. You put in the effort plus the house responsibilities, that’s enough for you to be tired.
When you’re weary, though, that’s an indication of some longer lasting effects. It’s not just being tired because of the moment, it’s a condition you can feel during days, weeks and or months of exerting a lot of energy on something. Being weary has a worn look of the face and heart that goes beyond anything a night’s sleep can cover.
Relationships can be wearying if you have put in a lot of effort for little or no reward. Work can be wearying if you find no satisfaction or fulfilment in the post but have to keep plodding on. Life can be wearying when it feels like a monotonous cycle of work-home-weekend. That’s not even touching on the pressing matters we often face the burden of which, can prove to be too much to bear. Rather than lash out at the world, we just get in the condition of being worn down.
Weariness. The condition so oppressing that energy to function is minimal, joy is depleted, feelings of true exhilaration are rare and that element of peace and rest is elusive.
This is another reason why I love God. He sees people when they are weary. He sees the conditions that lead to the weariness. In His Son, He spoke into that situation and invited us to experience rest where it’s needed.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
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