You have to pick and choose.

"When it comes right down to it, you can't do it all.  You really do have to pick and choose."

Wise words spoken to me by a friend this past week.

We were talking about the things that we do with our time, our money, and our lives.

We were wondering if there was more we could do.  Actually, we know there is more we could do, but we struggle to know if there is more we should do.  A very dangerous word.  Should.

What should we do?

Who decides this?  How do we know if we are doing enough?

I believe we can glorify the Lord through doing laundry as well as through translating God's word into foreign languages.  Both have importance and meaning.

But there is a constant inner deceptive voice that tells me this is not true.  The voice says that one type of work, or living in one kind of place is of more value than another.

This quote by John Maxwell is spot on when he says we can't know everyone, can't do everything and can't go everywhere.  What a great reality check in a world that advertises we can do it all and have it all!

It is the second part of his quote about "choosing between good and better" that could either provide support for making good choices, or could lead us into thinking that there is some kind of measure by which we can weigh our performance.

What kinds of things are classified as "good" and when or how does that label change to "a little bit better?"

How could we really measure the difference we might make in one place vs another place, or doing a certain task vs. another task?  Who holds these invisible scales?

"For it is God who is at work in you to will and to act according to fulfill His good purpose…" ~ Phil 2:13

So why then, do I continue to move through life as if what I do one day has more significance than another?  Or act like what I do in one year of my life outweighs what I do in the next five?

Why do I allow unfounded guilt to swallow my present joy in the place where the Lord has me?

Lord, looking back - may I celebrate the people I have met, and places You have taken me to.  May I rejoice in all that You have done.  May I realize the great honor to have even got a glimpse of it in person.

Looking forward, may I not compare it to the past journey You have had me on and especially help me not compare my path to anyone else's journey whether past or present.

Show me what matters most to you.  According to the death of your son.  According to the truth that I am saved by grace alone.  According to Your love for me, regardless of where I live, and what I do.

Even that is hard for me to type -- surely You must love me more if I am serving You in a direct, or more obvious way than through learning to cook with avocados in my own kitchen, right?

The answer is no.

His love is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

It is based on the work of His Son.  Not on me.  Not. on. me.

When I even barely start to understand,

my heart is comforted with an overwhelming peace 

The guilt is gone, and the joy returns.