STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN

  Ever feel like your mind is going in a million different directions at the same time? I feel this way, waaay to often. I have this bad habit of starting something because it's a good idea. But it rarely goes smoothly and I run into roadblocks that leave me with the option to vary off of the course I'm on. The next thing I know, wham! there's another roadblock. Vary. Wham, another. etc. etc. Finally I get to a place where I no-longer feel in charge of the situation and the decisions I need to make to proceed are beyond my wisdom or capabilities. I'm left feeling incompetent, frustrated, lost, annoyed, confused and like I've wasted a lot of valuable time. 
    It's easy at that point for the old devil to take over and encourage me with names like "loser", "pathetic" and "failure". I know now, after some hard life lessons, that I can choose; yes it is my choice, to believe him and eat my way through every chip & cookie bag in the house or I can stop, take a breath and talk to my papa (God). Some questions I ask are, "Okay, what is it you want me to learn from this?, What do you want to show me? If this isn't the direction You want me to take, will You show me what is?" If I then just clean up the mess I've started and let go of the situation, I at least have peace. I still may not have an answer but I have peace so that when God does choose to reveal something to me, I'm in the right frame of mind to "hear" it.
     I'm the type of female who struggles with speeding. (Ha ha, no, not in my car. I'm a granny sometimes when it comes to driving.) I have trouble not plowing through my day without much thought. I do get a lot done if I don't have any of those road blocks I mentioned earlier. But if it's something new or requires more effort than I can muster, I'm likely to walk away thinking I will get back to it and then start something else. I do it all the time. It's ridiculous! I can't even go to the bathroom without taking the mail, a book or grabbing for my makeup bag. Seriously! So with my personality and past history, I've come to believe, as the Waterboy's mama would say,

multitasking is :

of the devil!!

      

Again, Stop, Look and Listen. I have to stop before I go head on to another project. I Breathe. I Pray, asking one or all those questions I suggested and any more I can think of. Then, I take time to listen. If I don't hear anything right away, I thank Him for peace, for saving me from wasting any more time; clean up, (the clean up step is important so it's not hanging over my head) and then if I have time and ambition, start something else (hopefully less stressful).

     Life's not about how many projects I get done or how fast I do them. It's about maintaining peace so that God can use me for His glory. And it's always His desire for me to enjoy a good life. Think of how difficult it would be for me to lead anyone to Him if I was always feeling stressed out and unfulfilled. Remember to "Stop, Look & Listen and...
     Live the Blessed Life!   

                                     Chris