This is a struggle for me! When is enough, enough? Or too much!!!
I love toppings on a sundae. My favorite is vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup and real whipped cream. For me, a sundae is perfect just like that. Notice that the above sundae does have my favorite toppings, but you can hardly see them buried under all those other good things. That can be my life in about a nanosecond! I see all these other ‘good’ things and add them to my day/life and the best things get lost.
- Too much decor on a piece of art
- Too many activities after school
- Too many ‘to do’ list items in a day
- Too many good things scheduled into a busy week
- Too much stuff to steward
- Too many helpful technologies to master
- Too many self help books to read
- Too many ingredients in the soup
- Too many, too much, too often!!!
You get the idea! So why do I do this to myself? Is it all my fault? I believe we now live in a society that left busy behind a decade ago. We are now ‘busy on steroids.’ Our lives are consumed with activities,entertainment, work and the accumulation of stuff! Again, none of these things are bad, in and of themselves. But what do I leave out in pursuit of this current age?
Usually the first thing that suffers is my relationships. Not the 300 friends on Facebook, but my family, my faith, my handful of true-deep-no matter what I’m there for you – friendships. Next my health begins to totter. You know, that hyper tension head-ache, fatigue, emotional eating, the sniffles and allergies that just wont go away? My peace of mind starts slipping, my cup isn’t half full anymore. It becomes half empty. My walk with God feels more distant.
I think these are all safeguards and reminders to me! I always have a CHOICE! I serve God. He made me with free will, on purpose, so that I could choose HIM.
1 Corinthians 6:12 (NIV) states: “Everything is permissible for me” – but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me”- but I will not be mastered by anything.
Daily, I pray for wisdom.
What are my motives behind an activity? Who am I trying to please – Jesus or society? Do I have a centered relationship with God – have I spent adequate time with him in prayer, praise, communion? Am I seeking God? How are my closest relationships on a 1 to 10 scale (10 being great)? If I am at a 5 or lower, what can I do? Are there good things I am doing that are keeping me from the best things I am made to do? Are there too many toppings on my sundae today?
barb nicholson 