There are people I follow on social media who are way cooler than I am. (I know, I know, there are fakers on social media. The thing is, for the most part, I think these women are not faking it.) They honestly just get so much more done than I do. There's the mom who has her time so well scheduled that the amount of stuff she gets done in a day amazes me. There's the woman who consumes an astronomical number of books because she listens to audio books while she runs errands. There's the woman homeschooling her kids and making bread and keeping her house clean and running a side business and writing a book and leading a workout class and leading Bible study and volunteering at the nursing home and and and.
I was praying about this because I really feel like in comparison, I don't get much done. I can't listen to audio books all the time because my brain is tired. I can't run at 110% all day, fall into bed, and get up and do it all over again the next day.
But here's the thing: God hasn't asked me to. He has not instructed me to mother sour dough or be constantly consuming information and ideas.
Before I continue, let me just be clear that there are things God has called us to do that we shouldn't flake on. I think there are four categories that we are called to steward: ourselves, our homes, our churches, our places in the world, but how we are faithful in those places will vary. I am not saying that you have a free pass to have a disgusting home or that your children can be obstinate, rude little ragamuffins, or that you can do a lousy job at work, because the Bible is clear about obedience in those areas. (Prov 22:6, Eph 6:4, Gen. 1:28, Titus 2:5, Col. 3:23, Deut. 6:5, 1 Pet. 4:10, Rom. 12). What I am saying is that we were not designed for, or call to, cookie cutter obedience.
God has not asked me to make sour dough, but today there were four old bananas on my counter which required some attention, even though I didn't feel like doing anything with them. The banana loaf is in the oven.
God has not asked me to be constantly listening to or reading books, but He has told me to love Him with my mind, so I need to be intentional about what things I put in my mind and what I think about when there is silence.
God has not given us all the same things to do, but He has given us all something to be faithful with. Perhaps it's helpful to take some time and write out those four categories and pray about what obedience looks like in each area. I don't know what He's put before you, but it's not the same as what He's put before me, and that's good.
Tomorrow, I will work on a school essay, exercise, teach music, and go to prayer meeting. I'm thankful that tomorrow someone else is going to get children on the bus on time, and some other people are going to keep the hydro plants running, then someone else is going to answer the 911 calls, and there will be someone working the drive thru at Tim Hortons. It's all different, but it's all faithful.
Comments
Post a Comment