I was given a priceless gift, as well as a much-needed reminder, from the Lord today. Let me explain. I have been running myself ragged for the past few weeks. School has taken up a lot of my time - between lesson planning, getting the school English newspaper published, creating a new curriculum, making name cards and memorizing students' names, teaching extra night classes, beginning-of-the-year projects, and writing hand-written notes to all of my approximately 300 students, I've been working between 60-70 hours a week lately. On top of that, I've been dancing, playing sports, seeing my friends, and leading Sunday morning church service and a Wednesday night Bible study. So yeah, I've been stretched a bit thin these days.
Today was really bad. I was up too late last night, so I started off sleep-deprived - not a good start. Strike one. Then, classes were awful, and I had a night class to boot, so I didn't leave school until after 7:00 pm. Strike two. Plus, I barely had a second to breathe during the day, having devoted all of my spare time to getting the English newspaper published before my deadline in 2 days. Strike three. Needless to say, by the time I got to the Bible study at 8:00, I was frazzled and exhausted.
But, I had convinced myself that it was ok that I was so tired. My reasons for being tired were good reasons, so that means that my exhaustion was acceptable, right? I was pouring myself into my students, being a diligent and exemplary worker, and teaching other about God while learning more about Him, myself. Those are all good things, right? Yes, they are. But life is not really supposed to be a contest of who can do the most "good things." Somehow, I get the feeling that there's more to it than that...
So back to my story. Finally, after a long, exhausting day, I made my way to the Bible study that I lead. And no one showed up. Not one person. After waiting for a while, I headed back home, so worn out that I could barely walk. And as I was stumbling through the streets, struggling to keep my eyes open, God gently whispered into my heart, that this is not the kind of life that He wants for me. God doesn't want us to do a lot of good things. He wants us to do His great things, and to do them with excellence. Even if that means doing less....to God, it's quality that matters, not quantity.
See, by taking on too much, I had rendered myself less effective to everyone. My exhaustion from trying to do everything had turned me into a teacher with little patience for her students, a co-worker constantly rushing to make deadlines and squeezing projects in under the wire, a friend with a short temper, and a Bible study leader who doesn't take the time to sit down and properly study the very thing that she is expected to teach. I may be just an amateur at this thing called Christianity, but somehow I get the idea that that's not the image of Christ that we're supposed to be emulating. God wants more than that. He wants more than we can give, which is why we must rely on Him to help us give it. Can you imagine what would happen if, instead of doing too many good things, Christians started focusing on doing God's great things?
Today was really bad. I was up too late last night, so I started off sleep-deprived - not a good start. Strike one. Then, classes were awful, and I had a night class to boot, so I didn't leave school until after 7:00 pm. Strike two. Plus, I barely had a second to breathe during the day, having devoted all of my spare time to getting the English newspaper published before my deadline in 2 days. Strike three. Needless to say, by the time I got to the Bible study at 8:00, I was frazzled and exhausted.
But, I had convinced myself that it was ok that I was so tired. My reasons for being tired were good reasons, so that means that my exhaustion was acceptable, right? I was pouring myself into my students, being a diligent and exemplary worker, and teaching other about God while learning more about Him, myself. Those are all good things, right? Yes, they are. But life is not really supposed to be a contest of who can do the most "good things." Somehow, I get the feeling that there's more to it than that...
So back to my story. Finally, after a long, exhausting day, I made my way to the Bible study that I lead. And no one showed up. Not one person. After waiting for a while, I headed back home, so worn out that I could barely walk. And as I was stumbling through the streets, struggling to keep my eyes open, God gently whispered into my heart, that this is not the kind of life that He wants for me. God doesn't want us to do a lot of good things. He wants us to do His great things, and to do them with excellence. Even if that means doing less....to God, it's quality that matters, not quantity.
See, by taking on too much, I had rendered myself less effective to everyone. My exhaustion from trying to do everything had turned me into a teacher with little patience for her students, a co-worker constantly rushing to make deadlines and squeezing projects in under the wire, a friend with a short temper, and a Bible study leader who doesn't take the time to sit down and properly study the very thing that she is expected to teach. I may be just an amateur at this thing called Christianity, but somehow I get the idea that that's not the image of Christ that we're supposed to be emulating. God wants more than that. He wants more than we can give, which is why we must rely on Him to help us give it. Can you imagine what would happen if, instead of doing too many good things, Christians started focusing on doing God's great things?
2 Timothy 2:14-15
14 Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 
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