Working Hard or Hardly Working?

When we moved to NC from Oregon 13 years ago, I took a job in a new career field- working for the federal government- writing disability decisions.  Before moving, I had been the counselor at two elementary schools, meeting with literally hundreds of students each week, which I thought was my calling and my dream job. I went from that to sitting behind a computer screen and reviewing records and writing about them- by myself- for eight hours straight each day.  It was a drastic career change.

At first, it was a welcomed relief, as counseling was tough emotionally.  However, after a while, I started to feel out of sorts, as if I was doing something contrary to who I was, which was a people person, who loved to help children and someone who always worked in jobs that also felt like ministry.  I questioned why I had stepped away from a career that I had thought was my calling and what I had worked so hard in school for.   I started to feel depressed and worried that I had missed my calling and that I just flat out was not doing what I was supposed to be doing, according to what God wanted for my life.  I even held it against my husband for a while- acting as if he took me away from my “calling,” even though this was a choice we both made together.   

I became very worried that I was living in a way that was against God’s will- all because I had changed careers.

Man, how many of us “churchy” folks have been worried about living within God’s will our whole lives; especially when talking about our career choice?  Even as a teenager, I worried about it.  I worried that I would not find my “calling” and would miss out on the wonderful life that God had planned because of it. 

When we ask what God’s will is for our lives, we first need to stop and ask ourselves what his will is, in general.  When Jesus was asked about what his greatest commandment was, he simply stated that the first and greatest one was to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind (Matt 22:37).  He then stated that the second greatest one was to love your neighbor as yourself.  He said that all of the other rules stemmed from these two.  Again, as I’ve said multiple times, I am no theologian, so take or leave what I am about to say….. If Jesus stated these were the two most important laws, then wouldn’t it make sense that if we are following these two commandments we are living in his will?  Our specific job title is not important to God, but our heart, character, and how we love/treat others is what matters. 

Here I am, 13 years later, working at the same office, but I have worked my way up into the director position, which I would have never imagined would have happened for me when I started all those years ago.  You see, God knew what was coming my way, and I just had to step forward each day, one step at a time, work hard, love God and others, and trust that he was guiding my path.   I am now in a position where I truly feel like I can use all the skills and abilities he has given me and lead others in such a way that shows God’s love each day.  I am very grateful and happy to be where I am now and feel as if I’m living out my purpose.  I never would have thought back when I was working on my master’s degree in counseling that I would wind up using my counseling skills as a leader in an office one day and not actually as a counselor by trade.

So, take a deep breath, relax, and quit worrying about whether you should stop taking computer classes and join a monastery.   As long as you are following these two commandments, your actual career path is not important to God.  If you are living out these rules- or at least working on them daily because none of us are perfect at it- you are within his will for your life. 

I have spent many unnecessary years throughout my life worrying about this (before God healed my anxiety, of course), so I thought I’d share my revelation with you on this.  I hope that you will feel content with where you are now and not worry about whether you’re pursuing the career that God intended for you.  He cares about your heart- let him work on that first and the rest will fall into place.

With love,

Lyrica

Sabbathing Like Nobody's Business

 Growing up, I often heard the word “Sabbath” used by the adults around me.  To be honest, I mostly remember my adult family members arguing about what day of the week it should be celebrated- Saturday or Sunday- as well as whether we were still supposed to honor it.  As a kid, it sounded super boring and I worried it was a day where we either had to nap all day or sit and pray, read the Bible, or sing.  A day where doing anything that was actually fun was not allowed.  As an adult, I’ve had a mixture of feelings about it.  I have often felt like it’s a legalistic activity to participate in- under the old law that Jesus essentially erased when he came along.  I was pulling weeds one Sunday afternoon after church and I had a neighbor come and ask me if I was honoring the Sabbath by pulling weeds.  I honestly was a little offended at the time, but now that I know more about what the Sabbath is and the gift that it is, I see that his question was loving.

Some of you may be wondering what the Sabbath is.  In a nutshell, it all started with creation.  God created the world in 6 days and on the seventh day, he rested. Genesis 2:2 says that he finished the work he had been doing (you know, just some minor tasks like creating the oceans, sun, moon, and stars) and then rested on that day.  He not only blessed the seventh day, but he also made it holy.  It is profound to me that the introduction to the love story that is the Bible tells us that God found resting to be so sacred that he considered it holy.  In Deuteronomy, we read about the Ten Commandments.  One of the commandments that we often ignore is found in chapter 5, verse 12, where God commanded the Israelites to observe the Sabbath and not do any work on that day.  It was so important to God, that he had it on the list of the ten essential rules to follow.

I am apparently at a place in my life where I am suddenly open to this concept and my eyes have been opened to the fact that, all these years, I’ve never observed the Sabbath! Old rule or not, a full day of rest would certainly be a welcome gift- yet, I’ve ignored it. 

You would normally write a book review after finishing a book, right?  Well, if you have learned anything about me by now, you probably realize I tend to do things in life just a little bit differently, so you are getting a book review while I’m about halfway through a book.  I have been reading John Mark Comer’s book titled The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.  I am just so excited about it, that I can’t wait to tell you about it.  This book is life-changing.  In a brief synopsis, it’s about how we live in a distracted, hurried culture, where we are going full force all day every day and taking little to no time to rest.  When I say rest, I mean really resting.  Resting our souls.  It’s like the feeling we have after all of the Christmas activities have been completed and we’re cuddling up on the couch with our loves to watch a movie- feeling full satisfied and not worrying about anything else but being together at that point.  It’s getting in touch with who we truly are and focusing on who God is so that we know him and, thus, know ourselves as he is within us.  I know I am getting deep here, as you probably expected me to just talk about the importance of napping.  Don’t get me wrong- I am all for a good nap.  Big napping advocate here.  I personally do not take enough naps, whatsoever.   

It goes deeper than napping.  Mr. Comer defined the Sabbath in such easily understandable terms that I finally get it.  He notes that, as long as what you are doing can be defined as rest or worship, you are honoring the Sabbath.  Sitting down with friends and catching up over a bottle of wine- that’s resting, folks!  That may look different for each of us.  One thing that really stood out to me that he mentioned was that, if we are not honoring the Sabbath, we are going against the rhythm of life that God intended for us.  He rested on the first seventh day ever, which started the healthy rhythm and balance of life.  If we aren’t sabbathing, we are going against the grain.  We aren’t living the full, healthy, satisfied lives that God intended for us.  That makes sense, right?  I mean, how many of us feel unrested and dissatisfied much of the time?  It is because we are not taking the time to rest our souls.

Get you some Sabbath in your life.  I am committing to you right now that I am going to work at it.  I know it will take some getting used to, and my Monday through Fridays will look a little different to get ready for fully resting on Saturday, but I am ready to be in my natural rhythm.  I’m ready to enjoy rest, as God intended for me.  How about you?

With all my love,

Lyrica