Sometimes you have to prune activities and committments from your life just as you have to prune unwanted growth from your plants. One day you wake up and realize you are attending three night meetings every week in addition to your responsibilities at home and/or at work. Then Sundays become the most exhausting day of the week as you race from teaching Sunday School to warming up for choir to lunch with the family, then back to church with the kids for children's choir practices and youth group meetings. Plus you have a committee meeting or a Deacons or Session meeting. Whew!! What happened to the day of rest? You find yourself looking forward to Monday.
This morning I had that kind of conversation with one of the young women in our church. Feeling stressed and stretched by her multiple committments at the church she had decided to take action. She rescheduled an activity she was responsible for until fall when she would have more time to plan it. Then she left one of the music groups in the church that met weekly and joined the one that only met twice a month. Taking charge of her schedule made her feel freer and would make a big difference for her family as well.
As we talked about this, I shared some of my own experiences of pruning my life back to a manageable level when Portia and Babs were very little. She and I discovered that we each had a good friend who helped support and encourage us in this while we did the same for them. My supportive friend and I tell each other whenever we are tempted to overcommit: You need to go back and have that "NO" tattooed again on your forehead! (Thank you, D!)
I wish I could remember where I read the admonition that God sent Jesus Christ to give us eternal life not eternal committee meetings. The work of the church is important, but it needs to be spread around the congregation. Thank you God, for sending us friends and family who will tell us the truth in love and help us find a healthy balance in our responsibilities.
Have you pruned your life lately?
This morning I had that kind of conversation with one of the young women in our church. Feeling stressed and stretched by her multiple committments at the church she had decided to take action. She rescheduled an activity she was responsible for until fall when she would have more time to plan it. Then she left one of the music groups in the church that met weekly and joined the one that only met twice a month. Taking charge of her schedule made her feel freer and would make a big difference for her family as well.
As we talked about this, I shared some of my own experiences of pruning my life back to a manageable level when Portia and Babs were very little. She and I discovered that we each had a good friend who helped support and encourage us in this while we did the same for them. My supportive friend and I tell each other whenever we are tempted to overcommit: You need to go back and have that "NO" tattooed again on your forehead! (Thank you, D!)
I wish I could remember where I read the admonition that God sent Jesus Christ to give us eternal life not eternal committee meetings. The work of the church is important, but it needs to be spread around the congregation. Thank you God, for sending us friends and family who will tell us the truth in love and help us find a healthy balance in our responsibilities.
Have you pruned your life lately?
No comments:
Post a Comment