Day Three // The Best Yes
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Overwhelmed Schedule, Underwhelmed Soulย /Chapter 3ย – Pages 19ย toย 32
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[divider type=”dotted” color=”gray”]Today’s post comes to us from the host of The Intentional Filling, Bree Blum.
[divider type=”dotted” color=”gray”]Have you ever played the game Jenga? ย If you really think about it, it’s definitely not a game that should be played by adults, especially ones that deal with anxiety issues! ย We nit pick and take too long in making our selection of the block we’ll remove and arduously place on the top of the tower.
But isn’t decision making just like that? ย Or shouldn’t it be? ย Minus the onslaught of panic attacks, of course!
I fully believe that hindsight is a gift from God. ย Though it would be handy to have the gift of foresight sometimes, being able to look back and gain a whole new perspective of the situation; what worked and what did not; what areas need improvement and what can be expanded upon, is such a blessing.
I know that some people say that hindsight is a you-know-what, and sometimes it might feel that way. ย But if we really stop and take a moment to grasp what it really means to reflect on the decisions that were made and ultimately learn from outcome, good or bad, we can see how God is working in our lives.
Years ago, during my first summer as a camp counselor we sat in the meeting room of the dining hall during staff training, markers in hand and were asked to map out our faith journey. ย This was a completely foreign concept to me, and so the perfectionist that I am, I drew a nice straight line that I then broke down into little segments and wrote what I thought were significant events in the shaping of my faith.
When it was time to share, I was shocked to see the dips and valleys and lines that formed corkscrews on some of the other staff member’s papers.
My paper didn’t include any of those and because of that, I feel that I learned more about my own faith journey during that exercise than I did about anyone else in that room.
I had not recognized any of the trials of my life as being significant in the shaping of my faith. ย Instead I had taken on a religious viewpoint, seeing what traditional events took place in my life that lead me to where I was as a Christian, when I was really asked to recount all of the moments that had helped to mold me in the woman I am, the sinner-saved-by-grace that I am.
I love what Lysa says toward the end of this chapter,
How we spend our souls matters…But it’s not enough to know that these are moments of decision. ย We have to desire to become fearless with these moments. ย Fight through the doubt and discouragement and awkwardness of new.
“Never is a woman so fulfilled as when she chooses to underwhelm her schedule so she can let God overwhelm her soul.” ย – Lysa TerKeurst
How true is that? ย If we sit down and think about just how weighty our decisions are in the grand scheme of things, we will become paralyzed by the fear of commitment. ย But it is by taking each day, each moment and each decision, one by one, and applying the discipline of allowing God to intervene, that we can be courageous in what it is that we decide.
Let’s all be brave in saying the best yes for ourselves today!
[divider type=”dotted” color=”gray”]What goals have you set for this year?ย Have you developed a “plan of attack” and/or scheduled time to execute your plan?
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