Sometimes it frightens me that I — in some mutant embodiment of the “Puritan work ethic” — seriously consider emotional and physical burn-out to be a viable option for dealing with a crisis. It’s right there, on the table next to wiser choices such as “seek professional counsel” and “stop trying to control the outcome of someone else’s life.” I can’t explain why it’s such an attractive option at the outset, but I am slowly recognizing just how diametrically opposed my choice of burn-out is to true incarnational living.