Chaos

Is it normal?

Chaos, I mean.

Is it?

I was messaging with a friend last week (thank goodness for texting technology, or I wouldn't have a clue how my friends were) and remarked that chaos seemed like our normal.

And it does, doesn't it?

Running from school drop off to work to meetings, from one deadline to another, frantically answering emails during between meetings in an attempt to stay on top of a technology that was supposed to assist us.  But now it feels more like a hampster wheel sometimes...hurrying us to action but not necessarily showing us progress.

But maybe that's just my relationship with email....and scheduling...and chaos.

As I look at our activities, I realize many times that the problem still lies with me...and my mismatch of realistic expectations to time.

Translation --I think I can, and worse yet, should, do it all.

Full time wife
Full time mommy
Full time employee
Ministry with Aggieland Pregnancy Outreach
Involvement in our Sunday School class & church
Upcoming leadership role in national advising organization (unless there is a landslide write-in campaign, which God absolutely can orchestrate)
Ambassador with iBloom

Oh, and did I mention my kids are involved in stuff, too? It's no wonder my life sometimes can feel like the ball inside a pinball machine.

Now, many of these obligations I feel are absolutely supposed to be in my life. They are there because they help to define me. Mold me. Shape me. They are how God is choosing to use and grow me right now.

My challenge doesn't seem to always be the big rocks, but the small stones or pebbles. I've allowed them into my live as invaders of time. Unchecked guests.

And then to top it off, those guests have a tendency to overstay their welcome. They never seem to leave when you thought they were going to so you could refocus your and energy.

Yes, that's when my chaos seems to occur the most.

So it seems the solution is simple....1) ask God about the pebbles and stones and yes-of course the big rocks- and whether they are part of His plan.

Just because I may be able to handle a single pebble doesn't mean I can handle an onslaught of them, especially if my focus should be on the rocks He has already provided me with and is equipping me to face.

2) Ask God to reveal His design and expectations to you. We want what we do to bring Him glory and if we are too busy striving for perfection that we miss the person-we have missed the mark and missed the message. It's the relationship that points toward Him that matters....not the perfect ___________.

So how about it? Does your life have a chaotic corner needing cleaning? If so, will you work on answering these questions (or any others the Lord may put on your heart) and and restore a little peace this week?