More and more women, men and children are being expected to take
on more and more responsibilities. Due
to worldly pressures, women think they have to have a spotless house, while
working a full time job or being a stay at home mother, all while raising perfect
children who they do activities with daily, and also have perfect homemade
meals prepared and having meals stored in the freezer/ pantry etc…, while also
volunteering at church, school, for girl/ boy scouts etc… Men’s pressures are just as high, they have
to be the ultra romantic man who works full time at a high paying joy, but
still devotes his entire heart to children and finds time to take his wife out,
when he is off he is expected to clean the house and bring breakfast in bed to
her. Children are to be in multiple
activities (that their parents inevitably have to drive them to in addition to
all their other chores), do their homework, have 1 hour structured play and 1
hour unstructured play, stay up on all the popular TV shows while establishing
relationships with their piers, having play dates, hosting the most eccentric
birthday parties all while “still being kids”.
YIKES! Looking at these, we will
always be disappointed at ourselves. It
is impossible to be the end-all-be-all, and if you succeed in it for a little
while, you will be so exhausted, that something, somewhere is going to have to
give.
So often, I will find myself comparing my life to a part of
someone else’s life that I see that I need to be more like. Therefore, that goes on my list of things to
do and be and I get so occupied doing and being all these things that I forget
what is important. I do, do, do so much
that I forget to be what God has intended me to be. I forget that God’s way is the best way to live. I forget that so much of this doing is not
leading up to anything. Now it is
important to do some of these things.
It is important to strive to do your best at all things, but more important
than that is what God has told us to do.
I am very fortunate to go to an amazing church, The Fields Church
in Mattoon, IL. (http://www.thefieldslive.com/) I am
also very fortunate to be part of the Missions Team that gets to prayerfully
support missionaries around the world doing God’s work. As part of this team, I was asked to compile
a list of the missionaries, the jobs they are doing, their goals and their
prayer requests. While doing that this
morning, I realized that I don’t have to do it all. I don’t have to have my kids in 30 activities all while being
super mom, super wife, super daughter and overall super woman. As I sat there and typed up what these
people are doing, I realized that all I have to do, is to be in love with God. All I have to do to become a super woman, is
to be a super woman of Christ. I don’t
have to try to do it all by myself.
When I follow God’s ways, the rest comes, and so much better than if I
try to do it myself. When I am
following putting God first, I raise children who are well behaved and good
spirited because they see that God comes first and want to share with
others. When I put God first, making
dinner isn’t a chore, and if I don’t make it, it is fine because usually there
is something easy that I can throw together.
When God is first, the Kingdom of Heaven is glorified.
Don’t get me wrong, my kids still go to school every day, and are
in dance class, and do stuff at church, and have play dates… I still have to make dinners and clean my
house (blah!) and be a good person and volunteer… But when God is first, those things aren’t hard. That is what I want to do, well other than
clean my house- I pretty much have to FORCE myself to do that…
Our world puts these pressures on us “1st world”
people, but when you think about it, how silly would our problems be to those
in a “3rd world”? There is a
video out there where 3rd world people speak 1st world
problems. This isn’t my favorite link
to it, but you can watch the video http://www.buzzfeed.com/copyranter/first-world-problems-read-by-third-world-kids. How much does that put our “problems” into
perspective? How much does seeing
people in need show us that our issues of being “super person” shouldn’t really
matter?
Matthew 22:37-40 ESV
And he said to him, “You shall
love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You
shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the
Law and the Prophets.”
Mark 12:30 ESV
And you shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with
all your strength.’
Ephesians 5:1 ESV
Therefore be imitators of God,
as beloved children.
Proverbs 14:12 ESV
There is a way that seems right
to a man, but its end is the way to death.
Matthew 6:33 ESV
But seek first the kingdom of
God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Ephesians 5:17 ESV
Therefore do not be foolish, but
understand what the will of the Lord is.
Luke 9:23 ESV
And he said to all, “If anyone
would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and
follow me
Psalm 73:25 ESV
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
Micah 6:8 ESV
He has told you, O man, what is
good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do
justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
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