Ps. 86:11
Teach me your way, Oh Lord
and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart
that I may fear your name.
Ever tried to multitask too many things, like making dinner, keeping an eye on the kids, and talking on the phone? I know none of you do this, or if you do, you are a success at it, but for me, I feel the pressure and the heat and honestly, I can't take it. Dinner ends up being a flop, the kids get grumped at, and the whole family suffers as the result.
I remember some teaching from someone many years ago that talked about dissipated energy. I think I finally get it now. I only have so much energy to spread around for the things that must be accomplished today. I have to give time and attention to my husband, to my kids, to everyone's meals all day long, to my own body, to the cat, to the computer, to a cake, to the television, to the house, to the bills, to the concert band with whom I play, to the french horn, to the piano, to the guitar, to my friends, to my aunt, to my mom, to my sister, to my van, to my kids' things, to my hubby's things, and the beat goes on... Sometimes, my attention has to be on a lot more of these than I can physically manage. So what's the key? How do I juggle it all?
The first step is to put all the balls into the hands of the One who is the greatest multitasker. He attends to all the details of the world and all the people of the world at the same time, and because he's perfect in all he does, everything gets done right, no, perfectly. He alone can manage all these things with ease. My job description is to live to His glory...whatever I do, whether work or play, to work at it with all my heart, as working for the Lord and not for men. (Col 3:23) My job is to make breakfast for my children for the LORD, to fix my hubby's lunch for the LORD, to clean my house for the LORD, to blog, for the LORD. To shop for groceries for the LORD. To do the dishes or laundry for the LORD.
So wait, how do I get all those things done and still have time for the "spiritual" stuff. Here's a newsflash (for ME) God doesn't separate any of the work we do into the cateogires of spiritual and non-spiritual. God is SPIRIT and those who worship him must do so in spirit and in truth. I take his Spirit with me wherever I am. So, if I have to wash dishes, he's there with me. If I do a terrible job of it or spend my time complaining about it, He's right there with me watching and hearing how I am doing it.
I am in no way saying that anyone should neglect time with the Lord because they have dishes to do, but I am saying that the time doing the dishes can be pleasing to the Lord if they are done for His glory. I want to be like Eric Liddel who when he ran, felt the pleasure of the Lord. I want to feel the pleasure of the Lord as I wipe counters, kiss boo boos, play my french horn, fold laundry, or sing songs. That is my aim and my goal: an undivided heart--one that lives for the Lord and reverences(fears) him.
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About Me
- tooleftfeeet
- I belong to Jesus. I am married to Dan. I am mom to Pearce and Garner. I am a musician, a cook, a taxi driver, a teacher, a manager. I am me.
Great post and so true. Thank you for the reminder,
ReplyDeleteAmen! This is good stuff my friend. It really ministered to me. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHave you ever read "Practicing His Presence"? I have not, but one illustration I keep hearing from it is talking about how doing the dishes is spiritual. It is on my list of books to read... someday. I do not do well at multitasking either... that taking care of ME part seems to too often fall to the side and that makes everything else fall apart too. I do think one thing being a parent has taught me (or at least is trying to) is that I don't serve God through special time for him (though that is important)... I serve him in interacting with Andrew and in showing God to him in the way I treat him. Thinking now that that extends to how I treat others as well... it is just so much easier to imagine with a small child who depends on me for so much and is learning so much about the world through MY actions. (And, I am by no means perfect at it... so I suppose one thing he is learning is just how flawed grownups can be. That's okay... to an extent). I really enjoyed this post!
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