Busy, Busy, Busy

When my daughter was around 3 years of age I would ask her what she was doing. She would simply look up at me and say, “I’m busy, busy, busy.” That’s how I feel daily. But busy doing what? Am I busy becoming the woman I have always wanted to be? Or lost in the chaos of busyness? 

This year I don’t want to spin I want to grow. In order to grow I will need to just stop.  Focus. Regain my heart. Somewhere I have learned that it is wrong to be self absorbed, but in order for me to grow I will need to stop long enough to figure out where I am and who I have become and where do I want to go.

To accomplish this I have got to restore order first. I can’t think when things are messy. Laundry piled up, dishes in the sink and stacks of paper on my desk.  Every day I start with going around and straightening things up before I can begin my day. The same needs to happen tackling the bigger picture of my life.

Today  I am going to stop some things. Take inventory of what activities I can stop for a little while and ask for the support of my friends and family to support the decisions. I can be room mom , coach  or council woman again later. Study the life of Christ. He was never on the verge of passionlessness. Before and after heavy periods of activities He took the time to replenish the inner energy it took to carry out His mission.

My New Year’s resolution is to step back and find my heart.  To let God help me walk out of numb activity and back into life. I want to turn down the constant noise in my life so I can hear Him talking to me.  During the next couple of months I am going to begin to revive. Come spring I will be able to feel fresh and renewed and able to be again the woman God intended for me to be.

Shine Through Your Ordinary

A woman I know received an unusual compliment. She was told that the reason her friends love her so much was because she was so ordinary. “You are just like one of us, but Jesus shines through you.” This woman is a speaker and a writer. Encouraging others is her gift. She has had a tough life.

Maybe you feel ordinary. I know I do. What if being ordinary was the whole point? That ordinary, broken, common people like you and me are capable of extra-ordinary things.  My life is very common. I sit at this computer in a sweatshirt and flannel pants. No make-up, varicose veins and knees that hurt. I have no food in the refrigerator according to my teen aged daughter,  there is a pile of laundry to do and the dogs need a walk. Yet God can use a woman like me.

I am here to be a light. I have been given forgiveness, hope, grace and more. I simply need to do the same for others. To be generous with my life. Open up to others. Share my light. Some things are private but I cannot keep inside the powerful effect God’s love has made in my life. I spend a lot of time with hopeless people. Hopeless people get a second chance. God is using me to help them.  He shines through my broken places into theirs.

In the spirit of the holiday season I challenge you to shine through your ordinary! Be generous with your life, your homes, your affection, your stuff, your attention and your forgiveness. Live with open arms, interruptible, patient, interested and kind.

Shine through your ordinary today. Be passionate. Enough 20-watt bulb living! Become ridiculously addicted to shining. Watch how your ordinary brightens up the world around you.

Linda

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