Overwhelmed by Life

             Overwhelmed by Life

       Sometimes in the course of life our priorities become challenged.  July was just such a month for me.  My daily routine, or at least my preferred daily routine, is to get up, get a cup of coffee and spend time reading the Bible.  Last month my whole life got out of control.  Meeting the demands of others and what they expect from us is one of the easiest ways to get out of our routine.  There is nothing wrong with that as long as we remain conscious of what our priorities are.

    As a Christian our absolute first priority should be remaining grounded in our faith. Joshua 1:8 lays that out pretty clear, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”  That does not mean we have to spend all our time reading the Bible, but we have to meditate and stay focused to live a life that will keep our lives God centered.  Not doing what Joshua tells us to do will allow us to slide into a life of complacency.  Living a life and trying to being Christian enough, is a scary place to be.  Just defining, Christian enough is a challenge.

     When I started blogging I really had no direction as to where I wanted to go, or what I wanted to do with my blog.  My daughter Angel had a blog for a school project she did to get her degree and I really liked it.  She suggested I start one and write stories about my life.  Then my grandkids could read the stories my children heard from me when they were growing up.  That was fine but I have found it has transitioned to writing things that I hope helps others to grow in their walk with the Lord and to learn from my mistakes so they do not have to make the same ones.

    The Bible says a head of gray hair is a sign of wisdom.  As I have a half a head of gray hair, the other half is gone. (I have to wonder if my mind is falling out along with the hair.) My comment on the matter is usually, “As I only learn from my mistakes and my hair was gray before I was 40, it might say something about the life I lived.”  That comment is only made half-jokingly as there is a lot of truth in it.

    

       My slide started the last week in June when I moved my brother back to Indiana from Illinois.  It worked out he had to stay with me for almost a week. Then my wife and daughters went off to Florida.  My grandson Gabe who lives with my wife and I had been at my daughter Angels for the week before the girls left for Florida.  So we had to catch up by mowing all three of the yards we maintain.  Finally on the 3^rd of July we took my brother back to Logansport.  The fun was just starting as I ended up moving four people in the course of the month. We also mowed the lawns two more times, moved my niece from here old house to her new house and tore apart and rebuilt two decks.  Oh yeah I forgot the screen doors we hung and landscaping we did. 

       It was a month which seemed to be in perpetual motion as a tsunami of projects to help others overwhelmed Gabe and I. We hopefully are safe at home as we finished the month of activities by working in a booth at the Indiana State Fair for two ways.  At some point this fall I have to replace a floor in the house I grew up in and hang three doors on the rooms.  I also need to help my niece replace five windows in her new house before cold weather hits. Then to cap it off we need to finish a greenhouse on my property, build a garage, and cut up a bunch of tree tops from the trees my daughter Christina had cut out of her yard. 

     Being retired and having the means and the health to do it is nice.  The main thing I learned over the last month is to take the time and spend time with the Lord every day.  Not doing so will cause one to lose their closeness with God.  Toward the end of the month I started to feel spiritually drained.  There was no time to spend just reading the Bible or working on my blog, which usually requires me to do some serious Bible reading and spending time with the Lord. 

     Once I finally realized the problem and spent some time in the Bible it became clear to me that if we do not spend quality time with the Lord every day we will start to become worn out and tired.  Some people tell me that at sixty- seven I should not have to do all the things I do.  Something I learned long ago though is that the more you give the more the Lord blesses you.  Not just spiritually and monetarily, but physically also.  The Lord teaches you to pace yourself to get those things done that need to be done.

     So if you are feeling down or burnt out it may be time to examine our daily walk and make sure we find time to spend with the Lord.  Not as an afterthought but as a first thought.

    In conclusion I apologize for not writing more in July, but I hope the lesson I learned and shared will help others as much as it has helped me see the need to stay focused on the center of our life, which should be the Lord.