Reflection: Do It Anyway

source: Microsoft Office

Ever had one of those sleepless nights?  You know, the kind where you can't get comfy, the bedroom's too hot and stuffy, you doze off just to wake up 15 minutes later?

Yeah... me too...  I had one of those this week. Yuck. I felt like a zombie the next day.  Somewhere around 3 a.m. I decided enough was enough and I got up to read for a while.

I'm glad I did.  I picked up at the beginning of chapter 17 in You Matter More Than You Think, by Leslie Parrott.  I've been working my way through it, but put it down a few weeks ago when things got really busy and hadn't gotten back to it... until my providential sleepless night.

Oooo... that sounded dramatic, didn't it?


I say providential because God always knows what I need emotionally, and exactly when I need it. It's been a rough week... month... ok, honestly year at work - emotionally draining, stressful and overwhelming to say the least.

Funny, isn't it, how a batch of crazy-busy can cause you to lose perspective?  How the stress and overwhelming circumstances leave you beat down and soul-weary and feeling like a failure? Leslie talks about a similar issue in chapter 17.  The entire chapter is very encouraging and focuses on taking risks, such as loving people and choosing to make a difference in someone's life although they might ridicule you or reject your help.  But the part that really spoke to me was the end of the chapter, where she quotes Kent Keith's Paradoxical Commandments, a list of statements ending with some form of  'do it anyway'. This one is my favorite:  "The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.  Think big anyway."

My lightbulb thoughts as a result of chapter 17:

• It's hard to see how my current situation relates to my future goals and dreams - goals and dreams I believe God has given me.  Regardless of whether or not I can see the correlation, I know God has a plan and will use this knowledge and experience for my good and His glory.  So I push through another day anyway.
• I may not feel like doing laundry, or sweeping the floor, or picking up the clutter in my apartment. But I know my dirty, messy apartment only adds to my stress because I know I should be cleaning.  So whether or not I want to be cleaning, I will, because it's my responsibility to make my house a home.  I do it anyway.
• I realize that every day at least 1 person will be unhappy with my performance or ideas.  But I know that God tells me that I should give my 100% to whatever it is I'm doing...ultimately, I'm working for Him. So I learn from my mistakes and do it anyway.
• People will be unkind and treat me poorly. God says to love them and give them preference before myself. So I'll be a loving servant anyway.

Noble intentions, perhaps. Let me make myself crystal clear.  No one can accomplish any 'Paradoxical Commandment' type behavior in their own power. Selflessness is not human nature. But God promises that I can accomplish these things if I rely on His strength. 

Whether or not it's my personality or preference, or my timetable, through the strength of my God, I will do it anyway.