Ever feel like there are 236 things swirling around in your brain? The sheer number of things you need to do has you flummoxed. You’re spinning your wheels in the mud of overwhelm as your clammy hands grip the wheel in despair. I can’t do your work for you, but I can remind you of some tools that will come in handy when you’re stuck.

Respecting our limitations

“for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.” Psalm 103:14

“Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29

I often say to myself, ‘I work for a kind Boss.’ I see it every day. My gentle Lord sees my limitations. He knows what I can handle and what I can’t. And He knows how to relieve some of the pressure. I think He expects us to extend grace to others in view of their limitations and also to extend grace to ourselves. Our bodies and brains can only do so much. I’m trying to plan around my aging body and not schedule more than I’m capable of doing well in a day. This means saying ’No.’ Or ‘Later.’ I shouldn’t expect God to bail me out when I’ve been unrealistic in my demands on myself.

Respecting our gifts

“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.” 1 Peter 4:10

I don’t need to do it all because each person is equipped to handle different jobs. I’m specially equipped to handle certain tasks. I don’t have to do jobs I wasn’t made for. If I take a job I know I’m not fitted for, I’m depriving someone of a blessing who is actually fitted for that job. It’s egotistical for me to think I need to do it all. There are others who are much better equipped to do certain jobs than I am. A team, a family, a church, a group all have people with different gifts. I want to respect the gifts of others by encouraging them to use their gifts instead of doing the work myself. I want to respect my gifts by concentrating on using them= operating in my area of strength. This is by no means taking the easy route. I am out of my comfort zone all the time pushing into better skills, more knowledge, deeper communication. But it is all in the areas of the gifts my Creator laid into the fabric of my being. There is such peace in using what I’ve been given and not worrying about what I wasn’t made to do.

Respecting our assignments

“Give your complete attention to these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress. Keep a close watch on how you live . . .” 1 Timothy 4:15-16

In order to dedicate thought, writing time, and image prep for this blog I have to say no to a number of other things. I respect the fact that God has given me the job of writing this blog. That job dictates how I spend my week. Certain days are set aside for developing each week’s articles. Out of respect for that God-given task, I don’t schedule other activities on those days. Every time commitment I make is filtered thru the grid of “Can I get my articles done if I do this?” The habit of setting aside certain days helps me easily say no if the request is for my writing days. Another God-given assignment is time with our grandchildren. I also set aside weekly time slots for this and nothing else is scheduled during grandchild time with few exceptions.

Another facet of respecting our assignments is to avoid minimizing what we do. Whether we make a lot of money, a little money or none at all  isn’t the gauge of our work’s importance. For instance, when I was young I sometimes said that I was only a stay-at-home mom. ‘Only’ doesn’t show respect for that difficult and important assignment. Another way we can minimize our God-given work is to gloss over complements and thanks from others. I had to learn how to receive compliments graciously which means acknowledging the giver by simply thanking them while looking them in the eye. Accepting their words validates them. Saying something inane like, ‘It was nothing,’ is a form of deceit and doesn’t validate the generous spirit of the one giving the compliment.

Rejoicing in small accomplishments

“We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. He has enabled us . . .” 2 Corinthians 3:4-6

My driven personality can drag me along at break-neck speed giving me no time to appreciate what I have already done before going on to the next job. This causes a constant restlessness and often discouragement over what hasn’t gotten done. I’ve been working on noticing and appreciating what I have accomplished instead of always thinking about what I still need to do. Just a little mental happy dance and a prayer of thanks to the One who enables me goes a long way in renewing my energy.

Respecting boundaries

“Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’” Mark 6:31  Just a side note: actually all the quiet, alone time and rest the disciples got was the boat ride to the other shore. The quiet place they aspired to was overrun by people before they even arrived. Lesson: Try to get some quiet time, but if life throws you a curve, go with it.

Years ago when I was in interior design school, my instructor said something that I often remember in times of busyness. She knew that her students would get caught up in big design jobs that would gobble them up if they didn’t put parameters on their work days. So she gave this bit of advice. “Say to yourself at the end of the day, ‘I’m not finished. But I’m done for today.’” So simple. So hard to do. Yet boundaries are like guard rails on a slippery mountain road. They’re there to keep you from harm. I need to learn to schedule downtime. After all, it isn’t selfish to set aside time to renew so I can continue to serve.