Saturday, April 21, 2012

Lost in the Shuffle...

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The daily grind. The nine-to-five. The rat race. Work.

I seem to be conflicted on this subject

Part of me would have to tell you work is not my favorite thing. If it were humanly possible for me to become independently wealthy, honey, I would jump on that train. But I have checked my family tree thoroughly for some golden apples. No such luck. 

There is also this part in me, a part which I blame my father for, that feels compelled to be the hardest worker I know. I my eyes, if I'm not bleeding by the end of the day, I probably didn't do it right. 

So somewhere, between lying on a beach sipping umbrella drinks and becoming a blood donor to the workforce, in lies the sweet spot. Not becoming a slave to my profession but not becoming a couch tumor either.

I started a new job this week. (Amy, if you are reading this, thank you and I love my job.)  I quickly realized working from home was going to be trickier than I thought. The temptation to keep going is so strong. "Oh, just one more email, then I'll stop" Twenty five email later...

There is also the temptation of knowing my bed is less than a foot away from my desk. I promise you one day, it actually called my name. "Amanda... Amaaaandaaaa!"

 But the greatest temptation any of us face with our jobs is to forget why we are here. Though it is my absolute joy to serve my fellow man, it is all my first priority to serve the Lord. In everything I do, I want it to be unto him. But it is so easy to forget him in the day to day. Intimacy with him can become non-existent because I am so focused on the day ahead. At the end of the day, I can be so exhausted, all I want is my t.v. and some Fig Newtons. Mmm... Fig Newtons.

Even in working in ministry, you feel like you have spent time with the Lord because you have talked about Him all day long. But talking is just talking when He becomes a stranger. I can talk about someone all I want but that doesn't mean I know them.

Balance is key. Being a hard worker is not wrong. Being all consumed by your profession is. I want my love for the Lord to paint everything I do. I also want my desire for the Lord to be in the forefront of my mind as the task I most need to accomplish today. 

I'm not going to get all religious on you and deliver some master formula to spending time with him. What intimacy with the Lord looks like is in respect to the individual. You know what's best for you to get fed. The challenge is not how much of your day can you carve out for Him. You would be surprised what He can do with 10 minutes. The challenge is in maintaining a worshipful heart while in the midst of the chaos. 

Whether you work in an office, a classroom, or as a stay-at-home mom, where, let's face it, can be an office and a classroom as well... the position is the same. We were made for worship. That atmosphere can be maintained within our own hearts. Being ever mindful to thank and honor Him, to praise Him and to see Him in the faces of your co-workers, your kids or even that anonymous person on the other end of the telephone. 

Let's not get lost in the shuffle. Let's get lost in Him.



“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.Are you not of more value than they?And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousnessand all these things will be added to you. 


“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."


Matthew 6:25-34 ESV



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