Happy New Year!
The year has started and whether yours started out with a bang and a kiss at midnight or like me a kiss at 10:30 and "See you in the new year because this momma is going to bed!" Sleep is valuable in my world... Either way 2017 is in full effect!
For some reason, I have had a lot on my mind recently and so I thought I would share some of my thoughts...
Seasons come and seasons go. There is a time for growth and a time that the leaves change colors and fall off the tree. We all go through seasons. For me, I am in a season of little sleep and lots of diapers. I pray that this is just a season and one day I will get a full night sleep and my children will learn to go to the bathroom without my assistance! But recently, I have found myself thinking of the next season and all that would possibly need to be done in that season and then feeling overwhelmed and stressed about my to-do lists. I know it sounds so funny and so dumb but yet for me the struggle is real. And so in my thinking of the next season, I find myself missing out on the blessings of this season and only seeming to notice the hardships.
You see I believe that we dream up what will come in the next season that we miss the blessings in this season.
So there I was sitting next to Ethan on the couch telling him how stressed I am about the to-do list in the next season, so overwhelmed about future seasons in our life. He gently replied in a loving way "Elaine, we aren't there yet. When we get to that season God will provide and guide us just like he has to this season." Once again such a simple truth. As I thought about that, I found my rushing to the next season was not me trying to be proactive, no that was my cover up, the true reason I was trying to rush ahead is because I was lacking trust and allowing fear to guide me.
I remembered the passage of scripture in Matthew 6 that tells us not to worry about our life and what the future holds. It reminds us that God takes care of the birds in the sky and the flowers in the fields so he will care for us.
Then it closes with this in verse:
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." (Matt 6:34)
Did you know that worry is a thief? Worry comes in and of course it where's makeup and says "oh I'm just a planner" or "it's just a little concern" (the one you can't stop thinking about). But worry comes in to steal from you. It steals the joy of the current. If steals the peace. It steals the love. Worry will rob you of this current season and leave you dry and empty and stalled out. You see you become so worried about the future that you quit moving towards it so you end up allowing worry to steal your future as well.
So I decided in 2017 that I was not going to allow worry to steal my future. I am going to choose to present not just in the daily moments but in this season as a whole. So in order to do that- I am in the process of answering some questions to help do a spring cleaning in my calendar, in my home, in my heart, in my relationships, and in my to do list. I'm asking is this a priority in this season? Can this wait? Do I need this at all? And then I'm practicing saying no and not feeling guilty. God gave me 24 hours in a day and I need to manage the gift of time he has given me. So I am asking God these questions-
1. What would you like my focus to be in this season?
2. What should my priorities be in this season?
3. What do I need to let go of in this season?
4. Is there anything I should add in this season?
5. What is my role in this season?
I am praying and asking God to help me clean out and to clean up so I can be present in this season.
Maybe you would like to join me in spring cleaning (which technically is New Year cleaning) your heart and life so you can enjoy being present in this season that God has placed you in. Don't allow worry to steal from you anymore- tomorrow (or the next season) will come with its own troubles.