Keep it simple

In this day and age, we often get ingrained into our thinking the old adage that “more is better”. I’m finding out for me, personally, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Things change in life, but there is one thing that hasn’t changed and never will. We all have 24 hours in a day. That’s it. No more. It still amazes me how I can convince myself on a daily basis that something I’m about to do (before I get out the door when I’m running late already) will only take me 3 minutes, and then the intangibles kick in and it ends up taking 20 minutes.

The Lord has been showing me lately that there are things occupying my life that I need to “cut loose”. Sometimes I think we get too enamored with “creature comforts”. We HAVE to get home to watch the TV show we’re hooked on, we CAN’T miss the big ball game, we HAVE to get together with a friend to spend time doing our “new hobby”, or, we just HAD to take on that new responsibility that sounded so rewarding but is now taking its toll on us.

It should be a red flag to us when things that were only meant for simple pleasure or enjoyment begin to become so important to us that they’re now occupying time that needs to be spent elsewhere. Has that hobby or TV show or you-fill-in-the-blank become so “valuable” to us that if we miss it or if it doesn’t “go well” our whole outlook on life is affected and we fall apart like a $2 suitcase?  When these things happen, we need to begin to take notice.   Sometimes, I think it is even possible to over extend yourself and your time in Church activities (now THAT might get me in trouble with Pastors!), or even your children’s activities. Sometimes, we just need to learn to say “no”.  

My Pastor has laid out (more than once) the proper sequence to follow in our lives.  God is first (without a right relationship with Him, nothing else will function properly), Family is second, your job is third, Church is 4th, and any type of extra ministry involvement is fifth. I think many of us are living too much of life stressed out and anxiety filled because we’re trying to jam 38 hours into a 24 hour day. Take a look at your life. Ask the Lord to show you what those things are that have become “too important” to miss, and ask Him to help you reset your priorities. A new outlook on life awaits you!

Blessings!

Dan Owczarzak