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| freedigitalphotos: mapichai |
Yet I'm running my own race, and so are you. It's a thought that's been on my mind all week as I scrambled to finish a never-ending to-do list, meet my family's needs, prepare for our new homeschool year, and simply keep up with things I'd said "yes" to or simple daily tasks. Suddenly I felt as if I was running at an impossible speed and about to burn out when God reminded me of these words from Hebrew 12:
...let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us...
Emphasis on the word run, not sprint. And that's what slowed this runner enough to mull over all the words there.
See, we can start to sprint, can't we? Racing from one thing to another to another until we're nearly running circles. But if you've ever seen a race, the runners pace themselves. Sometimes they even walk for a bit--especially in longer races--and that's because a body cannot maintain that all out pace for long periods of time.
And when we start to sprint we can miss the markers on the path we're on. Oh, do we need those markers! Without them we can miss our calling, miss those moments God can use us, or even take on so many extra miles that it wears us out.
So pace yourself. Stay on the marked path. Walk sometimes, it's okay. It's a run, not a sprint, to the finish line God has for us and he doesn't want anyone to miss one thing along the way.
Have you found yourself in a crazy sprint lately? What things can you give up so that you can slow down some?
Great message as we transition from the lazy days of summer, to the action packed, full days of fall
ReplyDeleteAction packed. So true! I'm already trying to find my new pace:)
DeleteI said yes to so many things for so many years while raising my children. Now I've learned to say no, and people look at me like, "What's wrong with you, girl?"
ReplyDeleteThis phase of my life is focused on God, family, writing, and trying to get healthy. Because I feel like work is part of my mission field, and writing is for God's glory, I try not to feel guilty when I say no to other things. And right now, I don't feel guilty. If I feel God nudge me though, I say yes.
Great post today, Susan!
I'm learning this, Jackie. I still feel guilt sometimes when sitting to write, but I'm learning to turn that to God. To pray first and if He nudges me toward a yes or a no answer, to not feel guilt in either one:)
DeleteGreat post, Susan! As someone who likes to have a full plate, I struggle with this constantly. I love my time writing, but I'm social so then I need people, so I commit to too much stuff that people want me to do and then my writing time suffers. Somewhere in the middle of it all, I throw in the demands of kids and my husband. Thanks for the reminder to slow down and focus on what He's calling me to do!
ReplyDeleteI can identify with the full-plate part. I feel like if my plate is empty I've done something wrong. But like I said to Jackie above, I'm learning how to handle this because the craziness of sprinting has nearly been my undoing on more than one occasion!
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