Is Your To-Do List Taking Over?
Have you ever spent more time deliberating on what to do next in your business than you actually spent working? Discovering the next step to move the needle forward in your home and business can be exhausting. Decision overload and paralysis by analysis are real things ladies!
One of the hardest things a lot of entrepreneurial types deal with is the desire, maybe even border-line obsession, to do “all the things”.
Maybe you know what I’m talking about. You have so many ideas and so many ” I should’s” and “I need to’s…” running through your head that it’s hard to get any real work done.
Managing all the things
If you have kiddos you have an entirely different list of coulds and shoulds running through your head at all times. “I need to make that pediatrician appointment, and run to the grocery store, and bake something for the school party, and fold the laundry, and …..” The mental list goes on, and on, and on.
Or maybe you don’t have kids, but you’re involved in ministry at your church where you’re asked to do all the things because of all the “free” time you have since you don’t have kids.
Either way, whether you are trying to get everything done in your work, at home, in your family, or even in your church, there is an endless loop of tasks running through your head at all times and the occasional thought “Will I ever be able to do enough?”
Maybe you wonder if everything you do is really worthwhile. Can I ever do enough marketing to get my new business seen? Why even bother folding the laundry when it’s just going to get dirty again? Does my church really need ME to chaperone that event?
You are in good company if you ever feel that way. I know I go through seasons where it feels like my thoughts are on overdrive and my to-do list is running the show.
Riding the Crazy Train...
This past Friday was actually one of those days. My husband was off work so what should have been a fun family day turned into a crazy train of car repairs, running errands, cleaning house, steaming carpets, and organizing closets. A fun day for sure…
While the tasks themselves weren’t overly exciting to begin with, what was more discouraging was my attitude as I tackled the list. Instead of leading with the love of Christ as my guide, I jumped out of bed in drill sergeant mode set on keeping my “troops” on task. While military protocol may be very appropriate at times, it does not make for a warm and loving home environment.
Press the Reset Button
Later that afternoon when my temper was exceedingly short, I stepped into my bedroom for a quick reset and some bible time. It was during that time that I came across a story that I have read hundreds of times, but today the Holy Spirit caught me still in my tracks and gave me an insight I desperately needed.
The story is set in the 14th chapter in Mark and it occurs near the time of Jesus’s betrayal while everyone is preparing for Passover. In this story, Jesus in resting at the home of Simon the Leper when a woman brings in a jar of extremely expensive perfume made up of pure nard. The woman goes on to break the alabaster jar of perfume and poured the scented oil over the head of Jesus.
While this is going on we are told that there are people present who are indignantly calling out this woman for her wasteful ways and selfish use of this expensive perfume that could have been sold and the money given to the poor.
It is at this time that Jesus speaks. You see, Jesus is the only one present who knows what is getting ready to happen and he knows that the Holy Spirit led this woman to sacrifice a precious and costly gift in order to prepare him for burial.
Jesus tells those present to “Leave her alone…for she has done a beautiful thing to me.” He goes on to tell them that they will always have the poor with them, but they will not always have Himself.
Jesus goes on to speak the words that spoke so powerfully to my soul on that busy Friday.
"She did what she could."
That’s it. This woman performed a small, but incredibly thoughtful act that blessed her Lord so much that he rebukes the scoffers and makes her a promise that “wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done for will also be told, in memory of her.”
And Jesus kept good on his promise! Over 2,000 years later in a bedroom across the world, a woman’s heart is being revived and refocused because of the selfless act of this faithful woman.
Stepping into Obedience
Do you see it? Do you see how this story ties into answering the endless question of what do I do next and how do I get it all done? The answer lies in simply, in each and every one of us “doing what she could.” I can’t do all the things, but I can do the next thing. You can’t fill all the roles and answer all the emails, and love all of the broken, but you can be sensitive and obedient to the Holy Spirit and his call.
Think of the blessing that this woman would have missed if she let the busyness of her day and the voices of doubt in her head carve out this beautiful moment of worship she performed for her Lord. I know I can think of a few excuses and I don’t even know her circumstances!
Maybe she had groceries she had to get at the market before they closed. Surely someone was waiting on her at home with a long list of daily chores. Would people laugh at her for her “silly” actions? What will Jesus think? What if he gets mad for wasting this perfume? We’re told it was a very expensive perfume, surely she was saving it for something special.
No matter the doubts and fears going through her head, this woman acted bravely, selflessly, and faithfully by doing what she could to glorify her King. In the large scheme of what is getting ready to unfold, it is but a very small act, but it is a beautiful and meaningful gift to Jesus in his time of preparation for his trial and death.
That's a Wrap!
In closing today I would like to ask you to carve out a few seconds (or even minutes if you can claim them!) to stop, listen, and ask the Lord to show you what next thing that He is asking you to do. Maybe it’s an act of sacrifice, or simple obedience, or service, but whatever it is, if you are diligent to act, I know that He will use it to further His kingdom and to give you the desires of your heart.
Please feel free to leave me a note below letting me know what next step the Lord is calling you to take in your life or business and I will be praying for you specifically as you step into obedience!
Good day my lovely business builders!
~Cassie Kitzmiller
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