Task Driven?

Alarm rings, feet hit the ground running and the day begins.  When signing the birth certificate of a child you inherit countless responsibilities.  The days of sleeping in vanish, clean homes transform to one huge playroom, spotless windows now marked by tiny handprints and couches no longer used for rest.  As the years go by the tasks include driving from practice to practice, packing lunches for school, meeting teachers for a conference and worrying continuously of how this will all turn out.  Again, tasks shift as your child begins driving, dating and attending parties without you by their side.  Responsibility for your child remains until the day we meet our Maker. 

Daily routines may become mundane.  Alarm rings and you begin going through the motions.  The tasks overtake the hours and often overwhelm our souls.  The worry may consume our thoughts, being the driving force of our emotions.  Parents often succumb to this lifestyle and focus only on completing the daily tasks.  Our minds lose sight of the emotional needs of our child.  We forget how to have fun and just relax. 

I noticed this the other day when my daughter asked me to come lay with her and watch a show before I went to work.  My first reaction, “I can’t, I have so much ‘stuff’ to get done before leaving.”  Supper, dishes, pack lunches, clean some of the house, fold laundry, etc. topped my to do list.  How could I take time and just lay down watching TV when numerous ‘things’ sit undone?  Almost immediately, I felt a nudge!  That nudge reminded me to quit being a task driven mother and just be a mother.  Chores can wait, supper need not be a three or four course meal and plenty of clothes still remain in our closets to wear.  What my daughter needed at the moment was time!  She could care less about eating, clean clothes, a spotless house or what would be in her lunchbox the next day.  Her emotional health ranked number one at this moment.  So, I put some food in the oven and went upstairs to lay and chit-chat with my child.  It felt awesome to focus on my child not my tasks. 

So often we fall in the same trap while walking the straight path.  As a Christian, you may feel the need to complete a specific number of tasks before meeting your Maker.  “Well, God wants me to do good, make a difference, volunteer at every chance given and attend every church service/event scheduled, right?”  We hit the ground running following baptism and work hard at being a Christian.  Numerous lives need salvation, a touch of love and Truth fed to their souls.  True, but God doesn’t desire checklist Christians.  He is not interested in our works.  He does not even tally up the times Christians walk into a church building.  All He desires following salvation are open hands and open hearts.  He loves to hear “Yes” when asking for your help. 

Too often we create a list of tasks that God has not equipped us to complete yet.  Saying yes to every volunteer opportunity and church gathering leaves an individual drained.  Listen closely to God’s desires in your plan.  He holds a special purpose for each day of your lives.  Running from task to task reduces the ability to hear or feel the Holy Spirit.  For example: cookies need baked for a church gathering and you sign up; but, the same day a friend needs a visit due to a difficult time in his/her life.  Well, the cookies need be done at a specific time and then you need to get to the event and help decorate and wait to clean up at the end.  All God’s work, right? . . .maybe, but not for you at this time.  Your friend needs you.  God may have other individuals who need to volunteer at the specific event.  God does not ask for our work to grandiose.  The work done daily need not bring countless individuals to Christ.  He asks to plant one seed at a time and do so in His timing.  Being a task driven Christian can lead to working in our timing.  We need to quit creating a task list and just be His Children.  This means listening closely to Him, increasing sensitivity to the Holy Spirit’s nudge and giving Him our time. 

Seek counsel daily and listen to Him.  He will choose your to do list.  The list can change as the hours continue.  But, rest assure, there is a plan and purpose to each step taken, each interruption experienced and each “yes” said for Him.

Keep praying harder than the devil can work.

Sheree Craig