What things do you just never get around to?
All of us talk about how busy we are and how we have to put certain things aside just to keep up. Usually the things we put aside are the things we want to do the most. But, we figure that since we want to do them, they must be selfish things. Therefore we don’t find the time to do them. It’s kind of like eating well. If it tastes good, it must be the wrong choice. Right?
I don’t know what it is for you, but for me it is reading, sewing, and writing. Unless it’s productive or work-related, should I really indulge in such things? But, then I stop and think for a minute. I evaluate who I am and what God created me to be and do. It makes me ask myself a question that I will also ask you: Have you ever stopped to think about why you enjoy doing the things you continually put off?
That question in turn leads to a couple of other questions. Could it be that God created you to enjoy those things? Is it possible that, by putting off those things, you are actually avoiding the very things God wants you to do?
Now, I know that might not apply to everything. Just like with eating certain foods that really do taste good but are horrible for us, there are activities that we find quite enjoyable that have no inherent value in our lives. They in no way help us achieve our primary purpose in life, the glorification of God. But, when we really and truly evaluate our passions and desires, I think we might find that those "fun" things aren’t really what we deeply enjoy anyway.
I believe that God can grow me and honor Himself through reading, sewing, and writing. And I honestly believe that He has given me an enjoyment in those things for a reason. So, when I neglect to "indulge" in them, how much am I really neglecting to allow Christ to grow me in some very foundational ways?
Several years ago, I started reading as a reviewer. It reminded me how much I love to read and got me back to it. I still don’t discipline myself all that much to read if it’s not a review book. (In fact, even now I’m composing a list of books that I intend to review for Home Educating Family’s review site – mostly books that I really want to read but haven’t made the time for!) But, then again, I do love to write! So, if reading goes hand in hand with writing, if I grow in some way because I’m doing both things, and if other people are edified because of what I read and then write about, I suppose I just might be accomplishing the task of glorifying God through my personal passion!
Recently I decided that sewing had to fit back in there, too. I had not really done much sewing since Christmas, and I missed it. So, I have determined to make time weekly to get back into it. A once-a-week sewing session isn’t going to result in quickly accomplished projects, but they will get done eventually. And I’m not completely sure how my sewing is going to end up glorifying God, but I am confident that He has a plan to accomplish that!
Let me ask you the first question again: What things do you just never get around to? Are they things you really enjoy but feel guilty about doing? May I challenge you to prayerfully make time to do them? It might just be for one hour a week, possibly even scattered out into ten or fifteen minute blocks of time. But, God didn’t give you those desires for no reason! I encourage you to give in! Indulge! And in the process, pray that God will glorify Himself beautifully through you as you do the things He created you to enjoy doing.
Not Quite Ordinary 