God gave me a story, so go find a toy to play with because Mommy’s busy
And
he said to them, “Do not hinder me, since the Lord
has prospered my way; send me away so that I may go to my master.” Genesis
24:56
The
Bible has a great way of speaking right to my heart and this verse caught me
the other day. Sometimes—okay, a lot of the time—I let the pressure of family
responsibility and my desire to write write, write, write get all muddled in my head and stress me out.
“God gave me a story, so go find a toy to play with because Mommy’s busy.”
Alarm
bells ring. That little nudge of the Holy Spirit that says my priorities aren’t
straight. Because while I might not have actually SAID that to my kids (and my
husband!), I’ve certainly thought it.
I
love that I have a story to tell, something to focus on at any given moment. I
have a career flexible enough to fit around my life to such an extent
it still feels like fun, even though recently I’ve actually earned some money
doing it. (Gasp!)
But
there’s still a danger zone where sometimes I’d rather be writing than making
dinner or changing a diaper. I have to refocus my mind and remember what my
priorities are. That doesn’t mean I have to set ‘work’ aside, I can read a book
about the writing craft while I hang out and the kids are playing school,
packing their pretend backpacks and getting on an imaginary bus.
And
like most things, it’s not so much the ‘doing’ but the heart behind the doing. That’s what God has been teaching me
lately. Mostly it doesn’t matter if you’re volunteering in ministry, serving
food at a soup kitchen or sitting in your living room having your arm bandaged because
you have a pretend owie.
What
matters is where your heart is…
Is
it right there in the moment?
Or
is it off in your story, or your dreams for tomorrow, or the better days already
gone by?
Following
those well-known verses, Proverbs 3:5-6, is this:
Do not be wise
in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
It will be health to your flesh,
Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
It will be health to your flesh,
And strength
to your bones. Prov 3:7-8
That’s the key, I
think. To not be wise in your own eyes, your own opinion. Let how you see God
be the filter through which you look at your life. Stressed out people aren’t
healthy. Nor are people who rush, worry, dither, fret or run around trying to
do everything at once. People who have their priorities straight sleep better.
I guess I'm a work in progress!!
How about you?
Have
you tried looking at your life through who God is to you? How do you stay true
to your priorities when you really want to be doing something else?
Leave
a comment below and let me know what you think. :)
Visit Lisa Phillips... http://www.lisaphillipsbks.com/
Visit Lisa Phillips... http://www.lisaphillipsbks.com/
3 comments:
Love this, Lisa. I struggle with the constant tug-of-war between writing and family, too. Sometimes I can balance it, and sometimes I realize that my kids have watched entirely too much TV for the day.
Until they are grown and have all moved out, I don't think I'll ever find the perfect "balance", but I believe that if God has given me the story now, it will still be there later, when I can get around to it. The kiddos will only be little once. :)
Great post. How do I stay true to my priorities? Reminders like this one. And frequently. Thank you!
Thank you, ladies!
It is a struggle, especially since right now I have one in part time school and the other not yet old enough for preschool. That will be a great gift of time, later when they're both full time school.
It's all seasons, isn't it!
And now is a precious time.
God bless you both!
Lisa
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