I tend to think that my life is always crazy. Well, this past week (and my boss) have kindly given me a lesson and a lot to think about next time I start signing myself up to help with stuff.
As I've said before, I work an 8hr. day in a daycare. That in and of itself usually tires me out. However, for the past five years or so, I've helped with my church's vacation Bible school. That happened last week. After getting off of work at 6:00 (or around that time) I headed twenty minutes across town to the church that was hosting my church's Bible school while my church is under major construction. Once there, I spent two more hours with kids then got home around 9:00, went to sleep and was at work at 9:30 a.m. the next morning. That went on Monday through Thursday. That week was okay, but I was thoroughly ready for a break. I didn't get that.
This past week my church's youth group hosted it's own mission project here in town. My family is very involved in the youth group: my dad is a youth leader and my mom does a lot of the food coordination for big events. Well, my dad was out of town, but my mom was in charge of breakfast and supper for this project (at the same church as VBS). I got to help with that and with worship every night and some of the activities that were planned. Breakfast was served shortly after 7 each morning, so I was leaving home as early as 6:15 with my mom in order to get there in time to make the food. From there I left to go to work. At 6 p.m. I was driving back to the church to eat and run the computer for worship. I usually didn't get home til 10:30.
Everything was going okay until Thursday morning. I finished cleaning up the breakfast stuff with my mom and I swung by a gas station to get some chap stick. (The sun has been out strong and I sunburned my lips the day before; NOT FUN!) Well, I figured it would be a quick stop so I grabbed some cash from my wallet shoved it into my bag, opened my door, locked it, climbed out, shut it, and realized that my keys were in the car on the driver seat...
My keys, my cell phone, all of my stuff were locked in my vehicle, including the code for my keypad. I was around six or seven blocks from work, but I couldn't leave my vehicle parked at a gas station for eight hours. So I went in, found my chap stick, bought in, and in a cracking voice asked if they had a phone that I could use. I called my mom, who called a towing company to come and unlock it for me, then I called work and told my boss (also in a "just finished crying voice") that I would be late. Forty five minutes later I walked into work and my boss met me at the door. We talked for a while. "Things like this happen" "You took care of the over-time you put in" she said. But I went on to explain how busy I had been lately and how I was being stretched thin and how tired I was growing. She looked me in the eye and told me "God does not call us to do everything." The more I think about that statement, the more truth I find in it.
I over-committed myself and in doing so everything I was doing suffered. I need to second think things and start doing a lot more praying before I start committing myself to so many things. While I love to be involved, I need to things God's way, not my way.
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me." ~Erma Bombeck
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