Roll your works upon the Lord

I had the whole of last month panned out.  My content, my studies and all the extra things I do after work were all taken into account when I planned, but it was not long after my commitment to minimalism that the wheels began to fall off.  Have you ever had the kind of day where everything and everyone demanded your attention in such a way, it made it near impossible to get to your to-do list?  The problem with that is it then forces you to add today’s to-do list to tomorrow's. It just so happened that that became my week.  A week which then became my month!  It was so bad that I honestly thought the last thing I should be doing was writing on preserving peace because that was the one fruit of the spirit which had fallen off my tree.  But then, as the busyness started to subside, and I had a chance to quieten down, I had a time of introspection where I realized that there were a couple of things I could have done better to avoid being in that frizzled, high-strung state.  Things I thought I’d share with you.

First, I see the importance of pruning away the dead branches that take my time.  The unnecessary things which appear urgent but in actuality could wait. In gardening, to prune means to cut and remove. A tree that is pruned has the ability to sustain the crop because the structure of the tree is improved.  I have way too many things going on, and people who I allow to chip away at my scarcest commodity…time.  Pruning means, I say no to some people when they demand I do what they asked for, at a time when I honestly can't.  It will cause conflict, but I am prepared for it.  I saw how saying yes to everything and everyone, depleted me.

Secondly, I have begun to notice how perfection sucks!  I mean that figuratively and physically.  It sucks the life out of me.  Now, I wouldn't say that I am a perfectionist because, by definition, that would mean I hold everything I do to a standard of perfection, which I don't.  I don't lose sleep over a cupboard that isn't color-coordinated or wall art being crooked.  No, this trait comes to the fore when I could potentially look like a failure.  I come face to face with it every post I write where I would scrutinize every sentence until it appeared perfect and post it with my eyes closed to avoid finding something to change last minute and end up re-writing the whole thing.  If I had to plan an event, and I wasn’t there to make sure things ran smoothly, I wouldn’t sleep. It was all about what other people would say.  The two truths I am learning to accept is that I don’t have to have it all together all the time and that if the source of the perfection was so that I looked good in everyone's eyes, then my works aren't glorifying God. Imperfection makes me human, I need to embrace that.   

The most important thing I rediscovered, was my level of intimacy with God and how that quiet time has the ability to seriously impact my life for the better.  I have a prayer life, but like most Christians who have been in the game long enough, I started to sound like a child sitting on Santa’s lap asking for stuff.  I didn’t stay long enough to listen to His voice for correction, affirmation, direction and feel the warmth of His love.  I didn't press into His presence until my heart became so open that I saw myself as He did. I didn't wait to hear that without the stuff I crowded my life with to feel important, that I was enough for Him.  It was only when I worshipped until I entered the secret place, that the craziness of the days I had felt, melted with just a couple hours of what felt like Him holding my hand.  In those hours, He did for me what no counselor or psychologist could do.  He listened to me and then, I listened to Him.   It was there, with tears streaming down my face that He had become more real than the stresses of my day and, His strength was made perfect in my weakness. {2 Cor 12:9}.  My soul (mind, will, and emotions) needs Him to function to the same degree that my body needs oxygen.

In conclusion, Prov 16:3  says in the amplified version:

Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.

As each day has its own troubles of its own, may we all learn on this journey called life, to roll our works upon the Lord so that our thoughts become agreeable to His will in Jesus' name!