Doing it All

I don't know about you, but I'm willing to bet I'm not alone in this struggle. The struggle being: wanting to do it all. The struggle to keep the house clean, laundry put away, consistently workout, date nights, volunteer for church activities, fix dinners for people, minster to my neighbors, spend time with family and friends. Its exhausting really to think about everything I'd love to do. I'd love to do so much more than I'm doing, but God has shown me I can't do it all and whats better: ITS OK.

Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World is a book written for me. I've talked about it before on here and this chapter that I'm on is just as convicting as the last one I wrote about.

This chapter is called The Cure and for good reason. It's a cure for our tired bodies and spirits from overworking ourselves for the sake of "ministry" or doing God a favor. I love to help, serve, do whatever... I don't even mind taking charge when needed. I want to fix desserts for the cake walk, volunteer to teach that class, I want to help in children's church, volunteer for this... there's nothing wrong with these things. They are great things, but it doesn't necessarily mean that God has called me to do them.

This paragraph made everything hit home:
"I realized that there are many things that need to be done, things I'm capable of doing and want to do, however, I am not always the one who needs to do them. Even if I have a burden for a certain need or project, my interest or concern is not a surefire sign that I need to be in charge or help. God may only be calling me to pray that the right person will rise up to accomplish it. Whats more, I may be stealing someone elses blessing when I assume I must do it all."

I might actually be stealing someone elses blessing?! Another realization is that when we are knee deep in projects or too exhausted from the last thing we did to be obedient to what God has actually called us to do then there's a serious problem.

This does not give us a reason to be lazy. This does not let us off the hook to go shopping or lay on the couch all the time. This simply means we need to evaluate our lives. What is taking up most of our time? Is it beneficial? Is it what God has called us to do or what we took on ourselves?

Most of the time we have no one to blame but us. The ones closest to us are the ones we hurt because we are so worn out. We need to learn how to say No. We need to know that its ok to say No. The decisions to take on different projects need to be prayerfully considered... no matter how big or small. There's no need to give an immediate answer. It must be more than a prideful yes or no, but a certainty that you're being obedient to what God has called you to at that time.

Hopefully this is a lesson I can learn quickly.