As I have started getting “older” I have realized some vital things- one it is a lot harder to stay physically fit. This is something I have always prided myself on and playing sports consistently throughout my life gave me the perfect platform to keep me in shape. Two, time flies… I don’t know what happened between high school and college and now the “real world” but time has seemed to go at 10 times the speed that it did when I was in high school. I think back and those 4 years felt like a lifetime and now I blink and months seems to have passed without me even realizing it. Prioritizing has become this ominous task because there is so much to be done and so little time to do it in. The things I have placed lower on the list as of late have been:
1. Spending quality time pursuing my relationship with Christ
2. Making time for myself,using my creative talents and resting
3. Working out and being physically active
These three things don’t necessarily take that much time to do. In fact I could easily fit them into my daily schedule but my issue has become that I don’t like focusing on myself. I would much rather spend my time taking care of everyone and everything else. I exhaust myself working tirelessly to complete the lives of those around me and then I end up feeling completely empty and depressed. My entire life people have told me that when I don’t take care of myself I cannot take care of others well. I thought I listened to the advice given to me but I can see that often times those words of wisdom fell on deaf ears. I know that I am not the only human being that has been running myself ragged. I sat in bed the other night and I was feeling particularly low after a long and tedious day of work, work, work and I found myself being upset with the emptiness that I was feeling- I wanted to shout out to God and ask Him where He was. My mind flashed back into memories of the most fruitful periods of my life and I saw the common link between these times- they were the moments when my passion for Christ defined my words and actions and it brought me joy and energy to use my God-given talents and in turn the things that brought my life were the things I invested in and not only did I benefit from this but all those lives around me always saw the goodness of God.
I have decided once again to return to this practice- it does not happen in a day and I know I will fall short like so many times before but God has graced me with patience and I hope to practice using some with myself. When I was blessed with the opportunity to spend a summer in South Africa I received called “Spiritual Disciplines Handbook,” by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun. This book has broken down disciplines such as Accountability, Community, Hospitality, Rest and Service. I want to spend a week studying, praying and working diligently on a discipline and then I would like to show what I have found in this pursuit. I hope to bring to light the joys and the struggles of what it means to look to God in a time when I have lost sight of Him and in doing so I lost myself. I now want to search and seek Him out once again. I want to learn this lesson in Self-Discipline, something I feel He is calling me to do and I pray that through this process God might use me to be a light to someone lost in darkness.
“Lord, happy is the man you discipline and teach from your law to give him relief from troubled times until a pit is dug for the wicked.” Psalms 94:12-13
I would love for some prayer as I try to build up this skill and prioritize my life to become a healthier and happier version of myself. I want to learn so I can love more completely.
That’s all for now,
Amy Jodell
Amy Jodell's Blog 