The last few weeks have been so full that I can barely keep up. I’ve been forced to take each day on its own terms, without much planning, recreation, or wandering. I’ve been doing important work, and I’m grateful, but this isn’t the way I’d like to live my life most of the time.
Still, the almost overwhelming intensity of this season has certain benefits. It’s a reminder that I’m finite and have limits. There’s only so much I can do in any given day, week, month. As I find the boundaries of my own strength, I get in touch with a deep gratitude for the way the world keeps turning without my help.
I like to think that my life is important, and it is. God has created me to bring a gift to the world, a gift that no one else can bring. But I don’t have to do it all. I just get to play my little part. When I can really accept that, I find such freedom. I don’t have to fit the mold that the world has created for me. I don’t have to accomplish all the things that I wanted to get done today. I just need to be attentive to the vital work that God is giving me. The Spirit is equipping other hands to carry the rest.
When are times that you’ve encountered your limits? Have you experienced these limits as a burden, a frustration, or a liberation? What does it mean to rest in God’s purpose for you?
Welcome to Reality.
For me, when I was in my 20’s I tried to do every good thing. I burned out and would up collapsed in bed for a couple of weeks. The lesson out of that was that there are lots of things that need to be done, but only some are what I am called to do. I realized I needed to discern how God was calling me, and trust God to call others to do everything else which needed doing.
Thanks, Bill.