For a time, my
eleven-month-old grandson Bailey sat in his high chair and
munched happily on his Cheerios and little slivers of an
apple. When I noticed that he had eaten nearly all that was
on his tray, I gave him a little more. Suddenly he began to
smash his “yum-yums” with his palms and to swipe them off his
tray onto the floor.
“Bailey! No! No!” I said.
His mother cleared the tray
immediately, and together we wiped his hands and cleaned the
floor. As we did so, she said, “That’s what Bailey does when
he feels overwhelmed.”
I laughed. “I understand! All
too often I feel as if I have too much on my plate.”
Realizing that I was
referring to responsibilities rather than to food, Jena nodded
knowingly, since, “like mother, like daughter,” she, too,
normally has more going on than she should have.
As I reflected on that
experience, I realized that at least Bailey had the good sense
to get rid of the things that were overwhelming him! While we
adults ought not to dispense with our responsibilities as
quickly as Bailey did his food, we can learn how to admit we
are becoming maxed out and to ask for help. (Actually, we have
the option of saying “No” before we let people put more on our
plates than we want. That is our best line of defense.)
Even after we accept certain
responsibilities, we still have options.
-
One, we can hold on to
and perform our duties even though our stress reaches
dangerous limits. (Not a good choice!)
-
Two, we can learn time
management and organizational skills that will help us
juggle all our jobs more efficiently and effectively.
(Better.)
-
Three, we can delegate
some of the tasks to others. (Great idea for us, but
perhaps not good for the persons to whom we pass part of
our load!)
-
Fourth, we can spread out
our calendars and our commitments before God and say,
“These are the things I have agreed to do. But, my ‘plate’
runneth over! Help me know which ones I should keep and
which ones I should let go of in order to regain my sanity
and to renew my joy in serving You and others.”
You know what? He will begin
to instruct us. He may speak through others as He spoke to me
years ago when I was wearing not only my “Super Mom” hat but
also several others. My boss at that time often said,
“Johnnie, you do not need to do things the hard way.” For
example, after I made a batch of homemade cupcakes and
delivered them to the school, he smiled and said, “You could
have bought them.”
He was right, of course, but
that thought almost never occurred to me. Even so, God
continued to send gentle reminders to me via that dear friend,
as well as others.
God speaks through our
circumstances, as well. Sometimes we get to the point where we
are absolutely unable to continue doing a particular thing.
Thus, we have no choice but to remove it from our plate. And
sometimes God allows us to become so miserable in a situation
that we have to let go of it even though we’ve always felt we
couldn’t or shouldn’t.
God also directs us through
His Word, especially when we come before Him humbly and
honestly. In fact, Proverbs 3:5-6 (New Living Translation)
tells us the steps to follow if we want to know what we should
or should not do. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do
not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you
do, and he will direct your paths.”
©Copyright
2002 by Johnnie Ann Burgess Gaskill.
Johnnie
is a wife, mother of two daughters (now married), and the
grandmother of three. She writes a weekly inspirational column
for three Georgia newspapers, has authored one book and
contributed to three others, is a published poet and
photographer, and is learning how to paint
with watercolors. To read more of her work, visit her website:
http://eThomaston.net/johnnie . To view samples of her
photography, visit
http://community.webshots.com/user/author02
