A Full Plate

I think I am a “too much on my plate” kind of person. Is that crazy to say?

I have been thinking about it, and even though people I care about tell me I do too much and need to slow down, I just can’t imagine myself ever doing that. I love to be busy, and I love to accomplish things. I love to help others, and I love to use my talents.

If I have a prompting to bring someone a meal or to call someone, I do it. If someone asks me to help with something, I do it. If I have my own idea of something that would be fun or rewarding to do, I do it. If I feel bad that I haven’t done enough for someone or something, I do more.

Why I am like that, I do not know. Sometimes I wish I weren’t like that because I am so stressed and tired so much of the time. When I am those things, I get more emotional too.

But, I really think that God made me that way, to be someone who can persist, work hard, think on her feet, and go, go, go. I see it as a strength more than a weakness, even though it is really hard sometimes.

I think of what I have chosen to put in my life beyond the obvious (husband, kids, friends, faith), and I can’t think of much I would want to take out. Singing in church choir, singing in Messiah in Mebane, babysitting or bringing meals to others, spending time with friends who need someone to talk to, directing a Christmas pageant, owning and operating a business, volunteering to speak and do a musical number at another church – these are things I wouldn’t go back and change or take out of my life. I see so many blessings from singing praises, doing service, and using the talents God has given me.

I like to bring people together. I like to see people smile. I like to help others see their worth. I like to work to be better than who I am now.

Jad and I were sitting in the backyard last night  drinking cocoa and watching the fire crackling, and I said, “Maybe our lives are supposed to be full of sacrifices to appreciate all that God has done for us.” Jad is just as busy as I am – we are both so busy, and we are trying to also spend as much time as we can with our kids and each other, keeping our eye on what matters most. That is hard in itself, but as we read scriptures as a family last night, we talked about how if we remember why we are on earth, and make our choices to help us be worthy to meet God again, we will be doing everything we should be.

We aren’t perfect. Life is really hard, but I think that Jad and I are a great match of two people who add a lot to our plates, not so we can hoard all the goodness, but so we can share that goodness with others.

We want to help anyone who needs it however we can. We feel called to do that. And we will do our very best each time.

With all that being said, though, how do we get rid of the feelings of being insanely busy, too busy for a good night’s rest, too busy to keep a clean house, too busy to truly relax?

Well, there must be things we can remove from our lives to help. The thought occurred to me that I can cut down on social media. That will help me pay closer attention to what is going on around me, and keep my mind clear. I deleted myself from some Facebook groups, that though they are well-meaning, take up way too much of my time.

And then the other thought I had was to have weekly date nights with Jad. We are going to try to plan that somehow. We know that to feel better about our busy lives, we need more quality time together where we can really be ourselves and not worry about anything.

So, we will probably make these small changes and that’s it! We feel that being super busy all the time is just our life. What we can change is how we handle it.

Honestly, being busy is probably most people’s life, and it is hard for all of us! What is important to us will look different, just as what causes us stress will look different. Perhaps the best thing we can do is figure out if we are at a good busy, or just a busy for busyness’s sake busy, or a bad busy, and then make adjustments accordingly amidst sincere personal reflection. Sometimes that does mean removing a significant amount of things out of our lives or just learning to say “no.”

I know that my family and God should be my top priorities, and if I do my best to serve my family, God, and His children, then He will help me endure all that I must go through in this life, whether it is a little stress or a heartbreaking trial.

God gave us all gifts and talents for a reason, gifts that will bless those around us. We meet people for a reason. We are in the places we are at the time we are for a reason. Let’s focus on the reason, and our full plate will surely become a great blessing in our lives!