Invariably, no matter how carefully we manage our time,
we manage to run out of it. We get
busy and overloaded. Dirty laundry lies
in heaps on the floor, reports go unwritten, phone calls are pushed off until
the next day, doctor appointments are overlooked. We look to others in comparison, and complain
that they must have extra hours in the day; they seem to get more things done
than I do. Or maybe we think they are
more driven and can accomplish more. Or
maybe they are better at everything and can get things done more quickly.
Sometimes the comparisons go the other way, and we
see others as lazy or not ambitious. We’ve got so much going on. We run in circles to get the day’s
tasks halfway accomplished, while others stroll through life unruffled. We are crazed with an insane schedule, and resent
their calm, easy-going life. They must
have nothing to do. How boring; what a waste.
These comparisons serve no purpose other than to
draw our focus outwardly, fostering jealousy and judgments and any number of
things that take away from our own accomplishments. We see ourselves as driven and successful,
and feed our egos with more and more tasks in order to rack up successes,
or we see ourselves as idlers and feel as if we’re trapped in a holding
pattern, or our tasks overwhelm us and we fail at them over and over - we can’t
do anything right. All of these perspectives
isolate us and undermine our purpose, which is that we are valuable and
meaningful and useful in the eyes of God.
As a stay-at-home mom, I sometimes have difficulty
figuring out how to spend my time.
From the outside it looks as though my time is free to do many things, but
no more than anyone else who works at any other job. I have responsibilities that are used to
achieve a standard that we have set in our family, and there are consequences
when I don’t meet them.
At the end of any given day I am faced with a whole
list of things I let go undone. The next
day starts off with additions to my to-do list, and they too go
unfinished. Forget it if a kid is home
sick - the whole week is shot. The end
result is that I feel useless and unpurposeful.
That’s when, if I am present and quiet, I
pray. Pray for God’s wisdom, the
guidance of the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ peace and any other heavenly power I can
drum up at the moment. I guess what I’m
asking for is discernment. What is
important here? What is my purpose? What is crucial for the well-being of my
family, my community, myself? WHAT AM I
SUPPOSED TO BE DOING HERE?
Sometimes I get an answer. Sometimes, I don’t. But I get up, and I get on with it. And eventually, that peace comes, and I feel
as if I am doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing.
*******
You can make many plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail. Proverbs 19:21 (NLT)
For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him. Philippians 2:13 (NLT)
You and I have much in common my friend. Thanks for the verses.
ReplyDeleteThank you!!
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