I’ve been working from breakfast until bedtime this past week, juggling three important writing projects. This blog is project #4. I feel like a circus performer spinning plates, trying not to let any of them fall. Besides my writing deadlines, I also spoke at a women’s retreat last Saturday. And I have a husband and children who I love spending time with. And grandchildren who are growing up much too fast. I don’t want to miss a single moment of their lives. And aren’t I supposed to exercise every day, and cook healthy meals, too? Not to mention find time to see the new “Downton Abbey” movie.
No matter what kind of work we do, we all have weeks like this, when the pressure is on and there’s not enough time in a day to get everything done. If I’m not careful, my life can get so overcrowded that I live each day in crisis mode. The weeks go by in a hectic blur as I try to keep all the plates spinning, and I end up not really enjoying my work or my life very much. Is there a solution?
One of my favorite passages of scripture is Psalm 90—written by none other than Moses, who certainly had a lot of plates to spin. In his prayer, he asked God to “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” In other words, help me learn how to align my priorities with God’s. One of the lessons God taught me is to go to Him with my list of urgent tasks at the start of each busy day and make the list a matter of prayer. When I do, God has sometimes shown me that I’ve said “yes” to things I didn’t pray about, first. I’ve agreed to do them from wrong motives like guilt and not because God asked me to. Hopefully, I can “gain a heart of wisdom” and do things differently in the future.
So, I pray about my day, and set priorities, and just when I think I have everything organized, along comes an unplanned interruption that throws my schedule out of whack! Now what? Jesus was on his way to save a dying girl, a true matter of life and death. But He was interrupted along the way by a needy woman who touched the hem of His robe. He obviously saw this as a divine interruption, so He took time to minister to her. And He was still able to accomplish His goal of healing the little girl. How did He know it was a divine interruption? Easy, He’s Divine! It’s a little harder for us.
One such interruption happened to me recently in the middle of a very busy writing day. A woman stopped by to pick up a book, and I started to get the feeling that she needed to talk. Should I stick to my schedule or God’s? I invited her to stay and have coffee, and it turned out that God was asking me to do more than hand her a book. We talked, and prayed together, and when I returned to my writing, I was still able to reach my daily goal. Chatting on Facebook or checking Twitter and Instagram may very well be a divine interruption that God can use. Or, it can be a time waster.
The work we labor so hard to accomplish can have eternal results and bring glory to God, or it can simply fill up our days and sabotage our relationships and leave us stressed out. I’m still learning how to make those daily decisions, so I will keep on praying the way Moses did: “Teach me to number my days aright, that I may gain a heart of wisdom.”
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I needed to read this today! Thank you! 🙂
Blessings on your day Jennifer
This is a very timely encouragement to me. So glad you posted it.
Blessings on your day, Karen
What a wonderful reminder! I think we all do say “yes” out of guilt or a mistaken idea that we are the only ones capable of accomplishing this or that. Thank you for sharing this excellent wisdom. I will set about applying it to my daily plate-spinning.
Blessings to you, Rebecca, as you spin.
I really try to give each day to the Lord to order as He wills, but so many times my own agenda creeps back in before I know it! So thanks for this encouragement, Lynn. I really needed it right now.
I need to remember, too, Anne!
Since you mentioned the miracle in which Jesus healed the woman with the bloody issue, I wanted to share that I have just finished reading a book–Land of Silence by Tessa Afshar, in which Afshar imagines that Biblical encounter. What a wonderful story!The Scriptures really came to life!And yes, I needed a box of kleenex beside me as I read!
Thanks for the recommendation, Martha! I’ll look for it.
I love this post, Lynn. I am SO guilty of getting tied to my self-imposed to-do lists that I often forget to look for the God-provided interruptions. Thanks for the reminder to do that.
Thanks Roxanne. Blessings on your day.
I could relate so well to this post! May God lead us both to “number our days aright” as we place our schedule and priorities before Him. 🙂
Amen, Becky!
I don’t have near the plates in the air but I often stop to reach out when God pricks my heart.
I just passed up an opportunity. I saw this older man pushing an empty grocery cart but struggling as he approached the grocery storefront. As I passed I realized the situation but I had frozen foods etc. which I almost abandoned and went back to help. But I looked back when I got to the car and saw he made it safely inside.
I often help elder men or women who have that frustrated look perusing the grocery shelves. It sounds like you were wise and ministered as directed.
It’s hard to see so many needs all around us, isn’t it? Blessings as you reach out in His name, Daphne.
This is SOOOO good, Lynn. Gracious. And I needed every word. Thank you, dear friend, for sharing from your heart yet again today. Much love from Nashville…
Amen!