Sometimes the message is heard at the right time in the right place. For me this happened at our monthly leadership meeting at my church. Honestly, these meetings typically are just something I check off a to-do list. Another day, another meeting. A few weeks ago I even made a monthly calendar to keep all the meetings I have straight-it totaled like 30. (which I will admit is RIDICULOUS!) But this month, it was different. The theme was on creating margin in our lives and the message could not have come at more perfect time.
Perhaps I was extra exhausted or overwhelmed or feeling the weight of a never-ending schedule and a never clean house. I hate clutter. I hate mess. And despite the craziness of my schedule, it is usually neat and orderly. But lately, it has been CRAZY. I can’t even keep it straight which has led to double-commitments and to many “yes” answers.
Enter Bill Hybels. This man seems to always know what to say. In a 10 minute video, he completely altered my thoughts, emotions, and feelings. I came in feeling heavy, frustrated, and ready to quit. And I left feeling encouraged, challenged, and ready to quit. He asked some simple questions-
What replenishes you?
As I have reflected on this, I realized my schedule has become full of things that drain me and pushed out any time for those things that replenish me. Things like long runs, traveling, going to conferences, reading, and writing. I am by nature an introvert. The more I am around people, the more exhausted I feel. It is in the alone time, the time spent listening to worship music, writing, or reading when I feel full. So I have decided these things are going to non-negotiable on my schedule. I will carve out the time to replenish because if I don’t the crash and burn would come.
Who do you want to be?
This question requires some more thought. We don’t think in terms of “being”. We think in terms of “doing””. What do you do? Can you do this? Can you serve here or volunteer here or give here? A flaw in our culture, we equate doing with success and satisfaction. Guilty as charged. My schedule is full of doing. And it’s not all bad. In fact, most of it is really good stuff. It is life-changing stuff. But wrestling with who I want to be is going to mean taking a hard look at the doing in my life. I don’t have an answer yet. I am too empty to think about what I want to be. Hence the first question.
What do you need to add to your calendar to get there?
Perhaps the better question for me is what do I need to delete from my calendar to get there. 🙂 First step is to add time for those things that replenish me. I am going to work hard to schedule time for rest and reflection. I have a stack of books I want to tackle. And I am going to dust off my running shoes and try again. Even if I have to walk. I am going to take the time to replenish and pray and think through who do I really want to be and what do I need to eliminate or add to get there.
As we head into the weekend, take a minute to reflect on those questions. Perhaps you can take one step this weekend to start the process. For me, I am going to a women’s conference which is something replenishing to my soul.
Here is a link to a shortened video- Simplify Session 1 and I think I am going to add the book to my reading list.
