Humans need refreshment.

God does not tire; God does not need refreshment. That energy is constant, and the loving warmth is persistent and consistent. But sometimes your ability to be receptive is clouded and exhausted and feels beaten and defeated. All human beings need the cleansing of refreshment.

How is that achieved? It is not necessarily achieved by taking vacations, as one would think of them. You can be refreshed while still engaged with work. You can be refreshed while still dominated by concerns and fears. That refreshment comes while looking outward beyond yourself to other human beings who reflect God. That refreshment comes from looking at nature, the renewal, beauty, and intricacy of nature. The refreshment comes from many quarters, but it is always present.

Even if you are alone, you can be refreshed. You may be refreshed by memories—memories of beauty, memories of the love expressed by others, memories of your own acts of compassion, memories of those who have sacrificed in order to benefit someone else. It is not necessary that you must always be in contact with many people to feel that refreshment, but there is of course the need for it at times.