1 Corinthians 9:17 –If I were volunteering my services of my own free will, then the Lord would give me a special reward; but that is not the situation, for God has picked me out and given me this sacred trust, and I have no choice.
We make some ridiculous number of choices a day. Something like 35,000 choices or decisions each day. When it comes to just food, we make about 225 choices! Whew! So many decisions just about food!
It’s no secret. Some days, I make some really good choices. Other days?
Not so much.
Like: did I choose to exercise and move my body today?
Do I take time to start my day with God?
Am I compassionate towards the person who is struggling or am I judgmental?
Do I want ice cream or a salad for dinner?
And the list goes on and on and on.
As I try to move towards a “Simple Is Better” lifestyle, the number of daily choices becomes no less. In fact, it often feels even more challenging.
Do I finish another project or do I take some down time?
Can I get rid of more things and make life even more simple?
Why can’t I seem to stay on track with this Simple Is Better?
I continue to struggle with choices every day in my pursuit of more simplicity. Yet here are a few encouragements that I am trying to embrace:
Every little step is a step. It’s not about being perfect. Or making sure there is progress Every. Single. Day. It’s about setting a low enough bar so that you can regularly cross it and feel like you’ve made a good choice today. Keep your expectations low. Give yourself grace. The step you made today is one that was not taken yesterday. Embrace your attempt daily.
Life happens. We choose whether or not an unexpected part of our lives will be a little bump or a major detour. Some things WILL be detours. Let them happen. But we are also the ones that determine if something is a crisis or not. It’s sometimes easy to let something become a bigger deal than it is. Again, we make this choice.
Every morning is a new opportunity. A new slate. A chance to right something that went horribly wrong yesterday. Be abundant with grace for yourself. Daily.
Stop comparing. While social media can be a great thing, it can also lead us to believe that everyone’s life is perfect. Better than ours. THE best. Social media is for connecting. Maybe some information. Entertainment. Few people share their junk of social media. It is easy to assume that someone has a near-perfect life. Here’s a little insight: NO ONE has a near perfect life. We all have something in our memory/history closet that we do not want anyone else to see. Be happy with who YOU are first.
YOU get to make YOUR choices. No one else makes them for you. Awhile back, a person shared with me a challenging situation in their lives. They had some other upcoming responsibilities and felt they needed to continue with these. I simply told the person, “Only YOU can choose which is more important for you today.” We view ourselves as victims, when in reality, we are the one making the choices. Don’t like a situation? YOU can take one small step towards creating a different reality. But only YOU can make those choices.
Do the little things now rather than keep delaying them and making them a bigger deal than they are. Oh, I am the master of this! I write the same thing on my daily calendar so many times that I could have it done had I put my energy into completing it instead! Here are a few ways I try to challenge myself to not let these little things take up too much space:
- After the third time I put it on a to-do list, I MUST do it.
- If it takes less than two minutes to do, complete the task rather than write it on my daily calendar … again.
- Try to only touch a piece of paper in our house once. Either deal with them or throw them away. A lot of time can get sucked up in “shuffling” papers from one place to the next. (Yes, I do break this rule. There’s a stack of papers on my desk right now.)
Enlist help. When the choices simply become too much, offload something to someone else. Last Friday, my day was very full. I knew there was much going the next two days and I wanted to complete certain things on Friday so I would not be distracted in getting them done over the weekend. Hubby Rick knew this. He walked into my office and said, “Is there something I can do today to help you?”
My heart melted.
And I gave him some little job that he could do.
On these days, he will often go fill my car with gas. Make a meal that would normally be my turn to make. Be the taxi for the grandkids so I can focus on something else. Every little bit adds up.
What if you don’t have a Hubby Rick in your household? What do you do then?
Ask someone else. Enlist a neighbor, friend, someone who has offered to help. Call them and ask. It’s really not that hard. (Yes, this is one of my growing pain areas as well.)
Finally, do the things that only YOU can do. Let someone else help with the rest. Each of us have special gifts and talents entrusted to us by God. Those are the things that should be most important for us to focus on. Yes, it is easy to get distracted and do the mundane and easier things rather than tackling the special things reserved just for us. Be selective with this list. Consult with God regularly about this. Say “No” to other things that pull you away from God’s special projects picked out just for you.
It was early in our marriage. I was serving two churches, attending seminary full-time, commuting every week and had a relatively new husband. In the early days of our marriage, Hubby Rick and I tried to take Mondays as our day off. The weekend had been full. I promised Rick that we would do something Monday afternoon. Just the two of us.
We both got into the car. Rick asked what I wanted to do. I literally did not care. I did not want to make one more decision. After so many important decisions in the previous days, my brain was done with making choices. I would be content and happy with whatever he chose. And I was serious.
Sometimes, the decision we make is to not make any more decisions right then. This is a choice as well. And one, we sometimes should embrace.
Give yourself grace this week. Make the choices that fill your cup and keep you in your wheelhouse with God. Hopefully this will feel very rewarding for you!
For perspective on making choicess, I am grateful.
Blessings –
Dianne
Lord God – At times, I can make choices quick and easy and know they are good ones. Other times, even one small choice feels overwhelming. May You encourage me in my choice selection today. Daily. Regularly. Help me see You as the one who can really help me with all the daily choices. Amen.
If you have enjoyed this blog, please pass it along to someone else who will also enjoy it.
For a few more blogs about choices, check these out!
The Power of Choice. What Does God Say? by Sharla Hallett
https://sharlahallett.com/the-power-of-choice-what-does-god-say/
Find Your Way Back Home to Yourself by Lisa Crowder
https://lisacrowder.substack.com/p/find-your-way-back-home-to-yourself
The Life You Want by Ashley Olivine
https://www.ashleyolivine.com/the-life-you-want/
A Place to Belong: What Influences Our Choices by MelAnn
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