In a frustrated swipe of my hand, I erased two huge columns of tasks on my whiteboard the other day. Some had been crossed off, others hadn’t even been started. I’d stared at that list, willing something to fall off of it, waiting for someone to see it and say that could help me out with a few things, but all of those things I’d said “yes” to stared back at me stubbornly.
They weren’t budging.
So, in a moment of choice paralysis, I erased them and declared a fresh start for myself. With an exhale and a clean slate, I reevaluated my “yeses” and chose to turn some of them into “no’s.” The items that made their way back onto the list were priorities – job responsibilities, promises to family and friends, and a few small personal goals.
But the tasks that didn’t make the cut? They were all good. Some were exciting opportunities while others fell under that miscellaneous category of “would be nice some day.” But as I said “no” to some good things, I was able to make room on that whiteboard – and in my heart – for some great things that God had planned for me.
When we pack our to-do list full of good, we don’t leave space for great.
I’m such a task-oriented, reward-driven personality that the more items I have on my list, the more wanted, needed, and successful I feel. But it’s a false sense of security that ultimately leads to burn-out, when my heart desperately wants rest and space to find security in Christ alone.
Yes! I am exploring a post about the “discipline of being”. And how when we don’t take time to simply “be” we don’t often “do” what is best, but what is next, most pressing or seemingly most necessary. Making room for great…