Too Much on the Plate

Note: While working on a special project I came across this article I wrote in 2002. It's relevant today since "overwhelm" rarely goes away!

For a time, my eleven-month-old grandson Bailey sat in his high chair and munched happily on his Cheerios and little slivers of an apple.  When I noticed that he had eaten nearly all that was on his tray, I gave him a little more. Suddenly he began to smash his “yum-yums” with his palms and to swipe them off his tray onto the floor.

“Bailey! No! No!” I said.

His mother cleared the tray immediately, and together we wiped his hands and cleaned the floor. As we did so, she said, “That’s what Bailey does when he feels overwhelmed.”

I laughed. “I understand! All too often I feel as if I have too much on my plate.”

Realizing that I was referring to responsibilities rather than to food, Jena nodded knowingly, since, “like mother, like daughter,” she, too, normally has more going on than she should have.

As I reflected on that experience, I realized that at least Bailey had the good sense to get rid of the things that were overwhelming him! While we adults ought not to dispense with our responsibilities as quickly as Bailey did his food, we can learn how to admit that we are becoming maxed out and to ask for help. (Actually, we have the option of saying “no” before we let people put more on our plates than we want. That is our best line of defense.)

Even after we accept certain responsibilities, we still have options. 

One, we can hold on to and perform our duties even though our stress reaches dangerous limits. (Not a good choice!) 

Two, we can learn time management and organizational skills that will help us juggle all our jobs more efficiently and effectively. (Better.) 

Three, we can delegate some of the tasks to others.  (Great idea for us, but perhaps not good for the persons to whom we pass part of our load!)

Fourth, we can spread out our calendars and our commitments before God and say, “These are the things I have agreed to do. But, my ‘plate’ runneth over! Help me know which ones I should keep and which ones I should let go of in order to regain my sanity and to renew my joy in serving You and others.”

You know what? He will begin to instruct us. He may speak through others as He spoke to me years ago when I was wearing not only my “Super Mom” hat but also several others. My boss at that time often said, “Johnnie, you don’t need to do things the hard way.” For example, after I’d made a batch of homemade cupcakes and delivered them to the school, he smiled and said, “You could have bought them.”

He was right, of course, but that thought almost never occurred to me. Even so, God continued to send gentle reminders to me via that dear friend, as well as others.

God also speaks through our circumstances. Sometimes we get to the point where we are absolutely unable to continue doing a particular thing. Thus, we have no choice but to remove it from our plate. And sometimes God allows us to become so miserable in a situation that we have to let go of it even though we’ve always felt we couldn’t or shouldn’t.

God also directs us through His Word, especially when we come honestly and humbly before Him. Proverbs 3:5-6 (New Living Translation) tells us the steps to follow if we want to know what we should or should not do. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.”

Proclaim the Glory of God!

1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God.

The skies display his craftsmanship.

2 Day after day they continue to speak;

night after night they make him known.

3 They speak without a sound or word;

their voice is never heard.

4 Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,

and their words to all the world.

God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.

5 It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.

It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.

6 The sun rises at one end of the heavens

and follows its course to the other end.

Nothing can hide from its heat.

(Psalm 19:1-6, NLT).

After I'd read those words and reflected on them, I said to God, "May all that You've enabled me to be proclaim Your glory. May I, like the rest of Your creation, display Your workmanship. May all that I am continue to testify of You day after day and night after night. May I make You known throughout my sphere of influence.

May I, like the sun You created, "burst forth" (eagerly begin) and successfully complete the course You set for me each day. May I, like a well-trained athlete, be ready to run the race You have marked out for me...."

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A Different Perspective

Good News!

Ever feel that you're a mess? That your life is a mess? That everyone around you is a mess? That the mess is impossible to clean up, especially by yourself? 

Well, there's good news! There's hope. As Matt Chandler said, "God is at work in the mess. That's the message of the Bible" (Our Daily Bread, Nov. 20, 2018).

When we cry out to Him, He will help us, as He did David, who said:

"In my distress I called upon the LORD,

And cried to my God for help;

He heard my voice out of His temple,

And my cry for help before Him came into His ears."

(Psalm 18:6, NASB)

Take It Good

Today I've thought so much about my sweet mama who died eight years ago on this date (January 9). It's hard to believe she's been gone that long. Sometimes, when the grief is deep and raw, as it has been today, it seems that she died days ago. Sometimes it seems that she's been gone much longer than 8 years.

As brokenhearted as I was to have to let Mama go, I was also thankful that God had called her home, thereby releasing her from the ravages of Alzheimer's. As much as I loved her, I could not wish her to come back--under the circumstances. Although her last years were not easy, Mama remained sweet and gentle, never argumentative or combative or complaining or demanding or asking, "Why me?"

As I remember Mama's last years, I realize that "She took it good," as my mother-in-law used to say. I am so thankful she did. I pray that when I am in difficult circumstances, I will remain sweet and "take it good," like Mama did.

Where's the New?

A devotional in the January-February 2019 issue of The Upper Room begins with a delightful story (page 8) about a little boy who expressed great excitement about the coming of a New Year. But when the New Year arrived, he ran around looking everywhere for the New Year--or at least something new. But, of course, he found everything the same as before. "Where's the new?" he demanded.

The writer of that story (Sriparna Mahanty from Odisha, India) goes on to say that she often wonders whether or not there's anything new in her life now that's she's a Christian. You and I wonder the same thing, don't we? After all, as she points out, the Bible does say, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come" (2 Corinthians 5:17, NASB).

Although we may look pretty much the same, there will be more love that shows on our face and in our voice and in our

actions. We will be more forgiving and more patient with others. There are other pieces of evidence, such as those listed in Galatians 5:22-23, that prove we are changing from the inside out. We'll give up many of our old habits and develop new (better) ones. We'll see changes in our attitude-- sometimes subtle ones, sometimes major ones. 

The "new" is there and will become increasingly evident the more we talk with God, the more we read and study His Word, and the more we do what it says. 

Just as a seed that's planted grows imperceptively over time as it comes to full fruition, so also newness of spiritual life is a process that begins the moment we receive Christ. We are growing. We are becoming all that Christ will enable us to be. In the meantime, let's not be disappointed if we don't see major newness all at once. Rather, let's look for all the little signs of new growth we see in ourselves and desire more.

How to Cast Your Cares Away

Casting all our cares on God is hard to do, isn't it? We know that He causes all things to work together for His glory and our good. We know that He knows the best way to handle everything that concerns us. Yet, we do what a dear friend says she does: "I take my burdens to the Lord and leave them there. But then I go right back and pick them up again. Then the worry starts all over again, and I feel the weight of them again."

How do we release them? In my humble opinion, it's a bit like losing weight. We commit to doing it, and then comes the hard part. Moment by moment and day after day, we are faced with decisions. Do I eat this or avoid it? Do I exercise today or find reasons to skip it? Do I go to bed on time to give my body the rest it needs? Do I drink sugar-laden drinks or water? 

These are not once-and-done decisions. How much easier weight loss would be if that were the case. But we have to make those same decisions again and again and again. I think giving our burdens to the Lord is a lot like that, don't you? 

I heard one woman talk about a way she does that day-by-day surrendering. 

"Every single time a worry pops into my mind, I say to myself, 'For this [whatever the this may be] I have Jesus.' If the troublesome thought enters my mind again, which can be hundreds of times a day, I simply remind myself again: 'For this I have Jesus.' I can't keep the thought from coming, but I can refuse to let my mind dwell on the problem, no matter how big the problem is." 

Light for Life

A Brightly Shining Light

When the memorial service ended, I headed straight to the college-age woman who had sung so beautifully and said, “I just have to tell you how touched I was with your singing. Your voice is like that of an angel. And the light of Christ shines from within you.”

She smiled sweetly and said, “I do love the Lord.”

“That’s very obvious,” I said.

During the few minutes we talked, she told me that her life’s verse is Matthew 5:16. She even uses m516 as part of her blog address, which reminds her of that verse every time she types the address or shares it with a friend, as she did with me.

A day or so later, I looked up that verse and the surrounding ones. As I read Matthew 5:14-16, I noticed that Jesus had spoken those words to His disciples, which means they apply to us today.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15nor does anyone put a lamp under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (NASB).

She was a wonderful example of that. The light of the Lord was all over her: in her eyes, on her face, in her body language, and in the emotion with which she sang “Amazing Grace” and “When We All Get to Heaven.”

Because I want to be a light like that, I prayed, “O Father, I do want to let others see Jesus in me. I want His light to be so evident in me that people (even strangers) will be attracted to the light they see in/on me and will inquire about it, as I did with the young lady. And when they inquire, may I acknowledge, as she did, that Jesus is the source of that light, that He is the One who deserves the praise and glory for the beautiful light that radiates from me to others."