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Have you ever felt stressed, overwhelmed, or worried? Of course you have. If you're like most folks, you've probably felt all three, and worse yet, sometimes all at once! I know I have, in spite of the fact that I'm a minister, and I know this is not what God wants for me (or you). Even with wonderful modern day conveniences like smart-phones and endless new-fangled technology that is supposed to make our life easier and more care-free, I think life is more hectic and stressful than ever. The unfortunate truth is that technology can't buy us more time. More headaches, perhaps, but not more time. Our earthly time here is something that has a shelf-life. So, are we being wise with the time we've been given? Note that I didn't ask if we're keeping busy with the time we've been given. We've all got a pretty good handle on staying busy. The question is, "Are we being wise with the time we've been given?"
One of my favorite clinicians and cowboys, Craig Cameron, wrote a great horsemanship book a few years back titled, "Ride Smart". Not only was it an excellent book on smart horsemanship, but it gave me pause for thought. Why don't we choose to live smarter, too? With that in mind, this morning I woke up at 5:30 AM, stretched my toes, tried to recall the last lingering moments of a pleasant dream, and then quickly said my morning prayers. Surely my day was off to a good start. But before my feet touched the floor, my mind was bombarded with an endless "to do list" of things I felt I must get done today, but knew I probably couldn't. Even so, I tried to rally myself. After all, wasn't life about fighting the good fight of faith? Suddenly, I was too stressed, too overwhelmed, and yep, too worried to fight at all. Instead of living smart, I felt more like waving the white flag!
Worry, what is it good for?
Absolutely Nothing
"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his lifespan?"
(Matthew 6: 27, Berean Study Bible)
WELL WORN SLIPPERS AND A DAY IN
THE LIFE OF...
This morning I woke up at the crack of dawn, slipped my feet into my old, well-worn slippers, and headed for the kitchen. I quickly devoured a handful of vitamins, a bowl of oatmeal, a banana, a cup of my favorite Chobani blueberry yogurt, and a bottle of water. Then I quickly threw on some old jeans and riding boots and headed down to the barn to saddle up my horse, Sam, for our morning ride. The rush was on to beat the mid-morning summer heat, and everything had to be timed like clock-work in order to do so. I could already begin to feel the stress in my shoulders. No problem, I reminded myself, just cowgirl up. After a couple of hours of riding, taking care of the other horses, filling water troughs with fresh water, and doing some barn work, I headed back to the house for a quick shower. My day was just getting started. Time for round two. Fasten your seatbelts, folks. The race is on...
Throw some clothes in the wash, clean up the morning dishes, make the bed, throw something in the crock pot for dinner. But what? The fridge is bare. That reminds me - I need to get some groceries. I make a mad dash to the grocery store. Seems like everyone has the same idea and we're all standing in this line together, debit card in hand and ready to slide. Might as well go to the post office, and the cleaners, too. Are you kidding me? The car needs gas? I make a quick pit stop. Of course, there's a line at the pumps. At last, I get my gas. I feel like I've just won the Indy 500, and I drive back home. As I approach the house, I click the remote to open the garage, but not without noticing all the tall grass in the yard. Didn't I just mow the grass three days ago? How could it be this tall? Should I mow it today or wait until tomorrow? Decisions, decisions, decisions, and yes, more stress! I try to reason with myself. Maybe I will just mow half of the grass today, and mow the rest tomorrow. And so I do. It feels like a luxury that I have bartered for myself. A few hours later and a quick shower to wash off the dust. And then, round three.
Finally, I plump down in my office chair and stare at the mountainous paper work on my desk all marked with words like "urgent" and "needs attention now". My husband comes walking into my office. For a moment, my mind entertains the crazy notion that maybe he wants to rescue me and take me away from all this to some tropical island far away. Okay, at this point, even a lunch date at Taco Bell will do. Instead, he hands me a stack of ministry engagement forms along with endless sticky notes reminding me that it all needs to go out in the mail today. "Yeah, right!" I shout out as he's walking back to his office. "What do I look like, some sort of glorified secretary?" For a brief second, I feel completely justified with my outburst. And then it dawns on me - I am our ministry's glorified secretary! Round four, and counting.
Just when I think I've turned the corner and regained my composure, my computer speaks to me, "You've got mail!" Meanwhile, I'm getting texts from people who always use the words, "Please let me know asap". In the midst of it all, I suddenly think about a faith principle. It first came to me this morning when I was riding my horse, Sam. Now that I'm in the office, I remind myself to make a note of it for the newsletter. Ever efficient, I tear off a sticky note and add the reminder to the heap of other reminders. That, of course, reminds me of something else I need to do. I need to answer some of those horse ministry emails. Oh my goodness, what's that beeping sound? Oh yeah, that's the clothes dryer in the laundry room telling me to get the towels out, fold them, and get the next load in!
Suddenly, in the midst of everything, I feel as though I'm dangling precariously somewhere between having my first panic attack and trying to decide whether or not "going AWOL" is an option for me! I rebuke the thought. Besides, something tells me a lot of people feel this way - stressed, overwhelmed, and worried about trying to get everything done. That's life, after all. Or is it? And then I look out my office window and I see the birds.
SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM...
and while you're at it,
Look At The Birds
"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"
(Matthew 6: 26, NIV)
I love living in the country for a multiple of reasons. I especially like watching our lake ducks take leisurely, fun baths in the rain-filled puddles, and watching the hundreds of birds that call our farm their home. Oftentimes I find bird nests near the barn and under the wooden beams, and in the most amazing places. Along with firmly packed dirt that's woven carefully and tightly into a perfect circle with strands of hay and horse hair interwoven, the birds create a perfect nest. Then, in perfect sync with one another, they flitter and fly around the pasture as the horse's hooves sweep through the grass causing a buffet of delectable insects to rise to the surface for the taking.
I can't watch the birds without being reminded of God's care and His provision for His creation. Could it be that the birds of the air understand something about God that we have yet to fully understand? Could it be that even the animals of the earth know that God loves them and cares for them? One thing is for sure, they don't worry! The Bible commands us not to worry, too. That's right - it's a command, not a suggestion. In Matthew 6: 34, the Word clearly says, "DO NOT WORRY ABOUT TOMORROW".
Is that because there's nothing to worry about? The answer, of course, is no! In fact, immediately after commanding us not to worry, the Word gives us an explanation why we should not worry. The Bible says that tomorrow will worry about itself. In other words, today has enough trouble of its own so there's no need to waste precious energy by taking on tomorrow's trouble. But isn't that just procrastinating? After all, why put off worry until tomorrow when we can worry today, right? That's a bit silly, I know, but unfortunately, it's how we often live our lives and spend our time. We stress, we become overwhelmed, and we worry about tomorrow. It's not only a waste of a good life, but it's a waste of time. Why? Here's a sobering thought. For a lot of folks, time is short.
If you ask me, I think Craig Cameron was on to something good when he encouraged us to ride smarter. And God was on to something good when he told us not to worry. You see, God wants us to live smarter. We should make the time we've been given count for something, and remember, worry never counts for anything! Yesterday has passed, so no need to worry about that. In other words, forget about it! And tomorrow, well, strangely enough, when we wake up each day, isn't it odd how tomorrow is still tomorrow? Think about it. Perhaps that's why God told us not to spend our time worrying about tomorrow and its troubles. Today is what we have and today is a gift. Let's not forfeit or throw it away by being stressed, overwhelmed, and worried. Instead, let's choose to live smart and seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness today!
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