The Danger of Doing it All
With the baby on my hip, the toddler in tow, and a desperate glance at the clock, I walked down the worn pathway to the mailbox. My ever-inquisitive next-door neighbor casually asked how things were going. I responded like I normally did, “Oh, I’m good, busy...but good”. Her response is what stuck with me. She said, “I just don’t know how you do it all.”
Honestly, at the moment, her words felt like a badge of honor. They meant I was doing more than she was, that she was impressed with how much I could do, and that in some way, I was achieving more. My ugly, selfish, pride surged.
Later, I planned to check the “daily Bible reading” box off as quickly as possible so maybe, just maybe, I could have five minutes alone with no tasks left on my to-do list. I opened to Haggai (after struggling to find it), only to read this:
“Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.’” Haggai 1:5-6 (NIV)
In the stillness of the night, the Lord’s conviction came raining down as my sweet neighbor’s words echoed in my mind.
“I just don’t know how you do it all.”
Those few words weren’t a badge of honor; they were a call to action. They were an indication my life was full of misplaced priorities. Like the people Haggai addressed, I was striving, but never satisfied. I was failing to do what God had called me to do and be what God had called me to be. My life was like a “purse with holes in it”.
In Haggai, the temple was destroyed and yet God’s people focused on building their own houses and pursuing their own success instead of following the Lord’s command to rebuild His temple. So often, we are like these Israelites. We pursue financial security, job success, do-it-all parenting, and endless pleasures over the commands and will of God.
The good news is God will meet us where we are and work within our schedules and circumstances if we let Him. This may involve replacing “good” things with the things God’s calling us to do or looking for opportunities to say a sacred no when our plates are full.
God alone can patch those holes in our purses and help us walk in a manner worthy of our calling (Ephesians 4:1).
If your days are full and busy, and you feel like you’re doing it all, would you stop and “give careful thought to your ways”? Maybe God’s calling you to surrender your schedule to Him today, too.
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