I was reminded last night before I fell asleep of the "glass balls" analogy that my dear friend, Tresbien, (check out her cute blog @ "Love on a Budget"), taught me when she was my resident director at Teen Mania Ministries.
[I just love when these little life lessons come back to mind. Thank you, Lord!]
Basically, we are juggling glass balls that represent "responsibilities." (i.e. school, work, relationships, etc) Reality is, we can only juggle so much at one time before things start to fall. If we try to get tricky and add too many balls, one or three or five are bound to crash to the ground.
This is a rough picture of our lives. I can only manage so many responsibilities before something is going to crash. The question is,
which one(s) am I willing to let go of?
Which one is okay to let crash?
What am I NOT willing to lay by the wayside?
I think sometimes my problem is that I put too many things in my set of top priorities and then I have to juggle really fast for a long time with a lot of pressure - because I really don't want ANY of those glass balls to break. Is that even feasible? Realistic? Wise?
Where is the line?!
This is really about priorities. There are some glass balls that I am simply not willing to let crash, ever: my relationship and time w/ Jesus, family relationships, friends that God has put in my life for a purpose. i.e. Investing in RELATIONSHIPS.
Another one is health - physical & emotional. Whatever this needs to look like at a given time. Sometimes, in order to be healthy, I need to take a "homework free" day or drive up to the mountains or take a nap. Or maybe it means I need to carve out 30 minutes in my hectic day to make sure I get to the gym or sit down to eat a healthy meal (preferably, 3 of them). I've learned that my health has GOT to be a top priority because if it is lacking then everything else will suffer because of it. (You can't get much done when you're brain dead from only sleeping for 3 hours or sick in bed with the flu!)
Other things in life may rise or fall on the priority list depending on other factors and conditions. There may be days or weeks when I need to focus on school and that becomes a top priority (but not higher than the HIGHEST non-negotiable priorities) and other times when I can let school slide a little and focus more on ministry or working extra or whatever else may come up.
Knowing your priorities - the MOST important things through the least important - is basically setting boundaries in your life. The way that I look at it, boundaries = freedom! Boundaries tell me what I need to say yes and no to. It's making the decision in advance and already knowing how I am going to use my time and invest my life.
While that is all well and good... is that what ACTUALLY happens? No.
At least not for me. I guess I should speak for myself here. :)
I could easily just end the post here and wish you all luck in setting priorities and making that happen. But let's just be real, usually, we know what we need to do but instead we do something else. (hmm, sound familiar?) Our priorities are out of whack.
Romans 7:15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
Apparently, this is not a new issue. Paul struggled as well.
Note: I am NOT saying that just because you need a simple priority shift means you are living in great sin and need to repent (although, you may... I'll leave that up to you and God)... but I do think that Paul clearly conveys the confusion that a vast majority of us experience in TRYING to do the thing that we KNOW we should do, when we end up doing something entirely different, and the frustration that comes with doing so.
I KNOW that spending time with God is the best thing for me in the morning, but sometimes I choose extra sleep instead. Or I just get caught up doing other things and quickly flip through a devotional.
I KNOW that maintaining my health is critical, but sometimes I let homework or meetings get in the way.
I KNOW that I need to invest in relationships, but sometimes the tasks on my to do list are overwhelming and drown out everything else.
Notice that they are all a CHOICE. I choose how I spend my own time, whether for better or worse. I choose which glass balls I'm going to cling to and protect and which I'm going to let fall to the ground.
I often cling to the wrong things. I get overwhelmed easily and only want to spend time doing things that will either prove my "success" (i.e. SCHOOL) or things that other people will see. To put it bluntly, that's awfully prideful.
Jesus, I only want to cling to YOU. You are truly all I need. All else can fall away... they are temporary anyways. Help me to keep my priorities in check and choose to spend my time wisely and trust You with the glass balls that need to drop.
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