Every month, over at Chatting At the Sky, we link up and share what we learned that month. I hope you’ll hop on over there and check out what everyone is learning, or share what you learned this month!
The month of March seemed to disappear in a blink. I still can’t believe it is really April all ready. Looking back at the month, which seems like a blur, I had to really sit and think about what I learned this month. When I took a moment to consider, I realized God had been teaching me more than I realized. So, here is what I learned this month – in no particular order.
1. Sometimes, moving forward – even if it is imperfectly – is better than not moving at all. I have been very frustrated with my inability to move forward in sending out queries. It seems every time I get some momentum, something happens (usually at my newspaper job) that trips me up. I wanted to be sure I sent out quality queries, but I learned this month that sending some out – even if they aren’t as perfect as I wanted – is very important in keeping my momentum going. It is certainly better than coming to the end of another week without any sent out!
2. I have both more time and less time than I realize. I have never been very good with time awareness. I can think I’ve been doing something forever and look up and five minutes have passed, and just as frequently, I can think only 10 minutes have passed when it’s actually an hour – or more! So, when it comes to managing my time well, I seem to swing from either thinking I HAVE NO TIME AT ALL (which isn’t true), or I load my schedule so full, all I do is frustrate myself. This month, I feel like God has been showing me the REALITY of my time – which leads me to the next thing I’ve learned.
3. Even though I am NOT a schedule type person, I probably need one. I kind of balk at a schedule where I have the hours in my day accounted for in some way. It feels a bit restrictive and kind of claustrophobic to me. I want my options open and putting something in the little hourly squares in my calendar feels like I am giving up any possibility of spontaneity. But, this month, I have found the days where I sketch out the hours of my day with what is on my to do list are the days I feel most productive and less frustrated. Since I am a visual person, I think it has a lot to do with seeing the reality of my time – those 24 hours we are all given – with the weight of my to do list. It also gives me a clear picture of whether I really do have time to take on anything else. Using a schedule has taught me something else,
4. Having a schedule gives me enough information so I can be more spontaneous. What? How is that even possible? Well, when I see everything laid out in black and white, I can also see the things that can be put off or delayed. I can decide that lunch with my friend who is down CAN fit into my day rather than being afraid to do anything not on the to do list for fear it will put me irrevocably behind.
5. I’m just responsible for being obedient. The outcome is God’s responsibility. I taught a workshop at a fairly large teen conference the other weekend. I was super nervous – not because I’m afraid to speak in front of people – but because I felt this huge sense of responsibility and I wanted to do a good job. I prayed and sweated over my message on forgiveness. While my prayer was that God would simply speak through me – that they would see Him and not me – part of me wanted to do a good job because, well, to be perfectly frank, I wanted the teens to think I was a good speaker. I wanted to be successful. I had a few pangs of insecurity about this when the workshop down the hall had to bring in extra chairs, but mine was just barely full. That is, until God reminded me that, ahem, this wasn’t really about me at all, and all I needed to really be concerned about was doing what HE told me to do. God would take care of the rest. Ouch! Nothing like letting your ego cloud your vision!
6. Prayer is important. I know, this shouldn’t be a news flash, and it certainly is something God has been showing me in various ways for the last six months or so. But each time I glimpse the huge battle going on around me in the spiritual realm, it sort of awes me. At that teen conference, I was reminded once again, that I need to put in the time, energy and effort into my prayer life, that I am in a battle. Victory depends on me hitting my knees (or writing in my journal in my case since I have a bum knee – but you know what I mean!)
7.God can use my creativity to encourage others. I admit it – I’m a little artsy fartsy sometimes. I enjoy creating things and being creative. I knit. I make word art. I try new crafts and DIY projects with enthusiasm. I like to learn new things. In fact, I wish I had more time to pursue this kind of thing, but I often shove it to the side because it feels a little selfish to indulge myself too much with my hobbies. Like in the grander scheme of a calling, crafting is a bit pointless. God has been showing me though, that He can use anything – no matter how seemingly insignificant – if we let Him. Words fitly spoken are like apples of gold in settings of silver, and word art shared at the right time to the right person, can encourage that person’s heart. I was ridiculously excited to learn my hobbies can have a purpose! Which brings me to the other thing I’ve been learning this month (although I seem to be a bit hard headed when it comes to this!)
8. You don’t have to be productive every moment of every day, nor is “productivity” always the obvious thing. It’s so easy for me to get sucked into my to do list, and in the process forget about the people and relationships in my life in my effort to get more done. The thing is though, while there is nothing wrong with using your time wisely, you don’t have to use every moment in every day doing something. Being productive, being busy, having a long to do list – all these things don’t necessarily mean you are living out your purpose and calling because at the end of the day, every calling is about people. And guess what? Relationships and people take time. They are messy. While spending an hour listening to a friend’s heart doesn’t feel productive, it can be the most important thing you do all day.
9. I don’t really want to make real sacrifices to step into my Promised Land. I don’t like hard things. I don’t like being uncomfortable, so I have been resisting doing the hard stuff to realize my Promised Land. Like the Israelites, I want to just settle in without fighting any battles. I want to set up house without driving out the enemies and claiming the land. I want things to be easier – not have to do the hard work of claiming the Promised Land. In order to move forward, I’m going to have to probably have to pick up my sword and fight, but I don’t want to because it will be hard and possibly unpleasant. This is not an aspect of my character I like to look at too closely, but the hard truth is, I am by nature a bit on the lazy side. Ironically, I can run myself ragged being pointlessly busy, but when it comes to the real deal, I balk. I’m not sure why, but I do know that in order to fully step into the life God has called me to, I’m going to have to be uncomfortable and do the hard stuff. I guess I need to take a deep breath and pick up my sword.
So what did you learn this month? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!
Blessings, Rosanne