I know I must ask myself this question a dozen times a week. Seriously. I tend to be impulsive by nature though lessons learned the hard way have kind of helped curb it a bit. I'm moved by empathy or sympathy-- or stupidity-- and before I know it I have volunteered my time and energy for one more thing.
but, it's all good. If it's for God, it's always good. And more than that, God always redeems the time in His Awesome God-like ways.
A few months ago, my husband and I were approached by this young (young) couple at our church and asked if we'd mentor them. We'd never done this before and we were not really sure what mentoring would look like but after talking/thinking/praying about it we plunged in.... and you know what? It has been SO Awesome! We can't take credit because it's been ALL GOD but wow, it's been rewarding to be allowed this front row seat of what God is doing in their hearts and lives, both individually and as a couple. Powerful stuff!!
But I remember after one of our first get togethers with them, I looked at my husband and thought "what have we gotten ourselves into?" I can chuckle now because, again, it's been all God, displaying His goodness and grace in such beautiful ways. All I can do is point heaven-ward and sigh with happiness and relief!
some of the commitments I take on do come back to bite me. Take my job for instance. I feel blessed to have found a job, in this economy and I feel blessed that the job is one I didn't need much training for, since it's an area I know well. Still, with in days of my accepting the position I found myself scratching my head, going, "what was I thinking?" It's a fun job and for the extrovert it is the perfect job. For little closet-introvert me however, it can be a real struggle to keep my head above water and keep the right perspective.
I volunteered to be in charge of the church bulletin board, I spoke up and said I'd be happy to help coordinate small groups in our church and most recently I said yes to a request to help with a new church blog. All exciting stuff, using my gifts and talents and I squeal with delight over the possibilities it presents me....
uh, huh.... squealing with delight, yet squawking with Freak-Out inside.
I DO laugh at myself. Yes, I do. Because I know that I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME. In fact, His power is perfected in my weakness.
What a great reminder. It also helps me to remember to divide things into smaller chunks. A friend of mine is going to participate in a fundraiser this summer where she will BIKE from Seattle to San Diego. PEDAL ALL THE WAY. And while the big focus is San Diego and the finish line, the present focus has to be about miles she will pedal just that day.
It's one day at a time...
one moment at a time...
or my favorite....
one sip of coffee at a time...
savor each sip!!
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ReplyDeleteI think we are similar in the half extrovert half introvert part of our personalities that makes us scratch our head at what the compulsive extroverted side get us into. But as you pointed out, what blessings! Great to hear about the mentoring--more couples could use it.
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