Life is busy; we all know that. Many times our lives get full of very good things. However, last week a listened to a sermon with a wonderful challenge. Is my life full of good things or best things?
Best things?
Time in God’s Word as a number one priority.
Time with other believers in the body of Christ.
Time to be fed and to grow in a deeper relationship with Christ.
Time to nurture a godly, Jesus glorifying marriage with my husband.
Time to spend on mission in my city…sharing the gospel, inviting people to church, building relationships.
But even in this list of best things, there must be balance.
Sometimes church planting is hectic.
There are times when we’re up past midnight talking about vision for the church and planning the next steps.
There are moments of skipping grocery shopping to have a last minute coffee trip with a friend that you’ve been building relationship with.
There is a time for saying no to leisurely evenings at home in order to be out in the community meeting people and getting connected.
There are perfect Saturday afternoons where you skip the beach to go invite people to church.
And then there are moments to step back and rest.
There are moments for long evening walks with your husband where you can talk and reconnect in a fresh and beautiful way.
There are mornings where you sleep in and spend the first few hours of your day reading together in bed.
There are nights you fall into bed earlier than you did in elementary school and sleep soundly for 12 hours.
There are times to sit and watch a movie with friends and laugh and share life.
Then there are the times of spiritual renewal that must be purposed and planned.
Times when you set aside three days to go to a pastors/leaders conference.
Times when you get together to study God’s Word and be equipped for better leadership.
Times that you stay up late or get up early simply to pray and read the Bible.
The difficulty is…
It’s not consistent. It never will be.
It’s like the ebb and flow of the tide. Waves of business constantly crashing over you without a moment to rest, and then the release as the water rushes back out to sea allowing you to renew and restore your heart and soul.
There must be both.
There must be a balance.
I think I’ve finally come to terms with the fact that life will never be consistent for us.
There will always be that eb and flow.
There will always be waves crashing down and then rushing back out for a momentary lull.
And that’s okay.
The important thing for me, for us, is to learn when it’s time to create that lull. Which type of lull is needed, physical, spiritual or relational renewal…or maybe all three.
Sometimes this must be planned for far in advance.
Other times, it’s planned at the last moment. And no matter what, there must be all three. Especially spiritual renewal and rest. Just because we are leading and serving and preaching and outreaching, doesn’t mean that we are immune to the snares of the devil or the overwhelming moments of exhaustion.
In fact, we are more susceptible. Our strengths can become our weakness faster than we know.
So sisters let yourself ride the ebb and flow. The business is not bad, but there must be both…create the ebb of the tide in your life if you must. Plan for it far in advance, and then prepare for the flow again.
Be blessed
<3
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