Step Four: Consider our Choices
KEY VERSE: Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. Walk with me and work with me--watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly. Matthew 11:28-29
Today most women face a constant dilemma: too much to do and not enough time to accomplish it all. There are plans to make, places to go, interests to develop, and projects to complete. Also, careers, family problems, children to raise, aging parents to care for, financial obligations to fulfill and ministry work to be done.
We live in an age of over-choice.
Until we understand the roles we are attempting to manage at our current life stage, we will continue to find it difficult to be objective about our needs, goals, and realities. Then we can feel overwhelmed and not know exactly why.
Think about the tasks, roles, and jobs that vie for your attention on a daily basis. Then try to narrow those into seven basic roles. It may not be easy. When I (Joan) wrote the book, I divided my roles as follows: Friend of God, Self-Care Manager, Wife/Homemaker, Mother/Grandmother, Friend/Daughter/Sister, International Director/Missionary, and Writer/Coach/Speaker. Your roles will be different. Yet, determining your current roles will help reduce your anxiety as it did for my friend Jill.
I felt disorganized and it bothered me, said Jill. As a stay-at-home mother of two young sons, the wife of a traveling executive, and part-time care-giver for my grandmother, I was busy all the time. In addition, our family had just moved and I coordinated the remodeling. Still, I was not sure that what I did each day had lasting value. Then I did the roles exercise in The Intentional Woman process.
I identified my seven current roles: wife, mother, child of God, personal caretaker, home decorator, friend/neighbor, member of a large extended family. I realized that these roles were exactly what I wanted to be doing. What an affirmation to know that I am living out my values and making choices that support who and what I want to be. Before I felt like I was wasting time, now the tasks that used to frustrate me, like being stuck in the doctor's office, take on new significance as I accept my God-given roles at this season of my life.
According to Matthew 14, when Jesus heard the distressing news that his cousin John had died, He decided to go away by Himself. But the crowds interrupted Him, begging for attention. Jesus thought he was going to attend to his role as Self-Care Manager and Son (Child) of God when He made His plan to withdraw to a solitary place. Yet, when He saw the great needs of the people, He recognized that His role as Healer and Minister warranted immediate attention. When He finished, He resumed His original plans to be alone and pray.
Jesus is our example.
In Matthew 11:28, Christ invites you and me to come to Him and find renewal, working with Him to learn how to balance our current roles gracefully. He promises not to overburden us with unrealistic expectations, but to allow us freedom and space to choose, plan, and grow.
(Adapted from The Intentional Woman: A Guide to Experiencing the Power of Your Story by Joan C. Webb and Carol Travilla. Published by NavPress)
Today most women face a constant dilemma: too much to do and not enough time to accomplish it all. There are plans to make, places to go, interests to develop, and projects to complete. Also, careers, family problems, children to raise, aging parents to care for, financial obligations to fulfill and ministry work to be done.
We live in an age of over-choice.
Until we understand the roles we are attempting to manage at our current life stage, we will continue to find it difficult to be objective about our needs, goals, and realities. Then we can feel overwhelmed and not know exactly why.
Think about the tasks, roles, and jobs that vie for your attention on a daily basis. Then try to narrow those into seven basic roles. It may not be easy. When I (Joan) wrote the book, I divided my roles as follows: Friend of God, Self-Care Manager, Wife/Homemaker, Mother/Grandmother, Friend/Daughter/Sister, International Director/Missionary, and Writer/Coach/Speaker. Your roles will be different. Yet, determining your current roles will help reduce your anxiety as it did for my friend Jill.
I felt disorganized and it bothered me, said Jill. As a stay-at-home mother of two young sons, the wife of a traveling executive, and part-time care-giver for my grandmother, I was busy all the time. In addition, our family had just moved and I coordinated the remodeling. Still, I was not sure that what I did each day had lasting value. Then I did the roles exercise in The Intentional Woman process.
I identified my seven current roles: wife, mother, child of God, personal caretaker, home decorator, friend/neighbor, member of a large extended family. I realized that these roles were exactly what I wanted to be doing. What an affirmation to know that I am living out my values and making choices that support who and what I want to be. Before I felt like I was wasting time, now the tasks that used to frustrate me, like being stuck in the doctor's office, take on new significance as I accept my God-given roles at this season of my life.
According to Matthew 14, when Jesus heard the distressing news that his cousin John had died, He decided to go away by Himself. But the crowds interrupted Him, begging for attention. Jesus thought he was going to attend to his role as Self-Care Manager and Son (Child) of God when He made His plan to withdraw to a solitary place. Yet, when He saw the great needs of the people, He recognized that His role as Healer and Minister warranted immediate attention. When He finished, He resumed His original plans to be alone and pray.
Jesus is our example.
In Matthew 11:28, Christ invites you and me to come to Him and find renewal, working with Him to learn how to balance our current roles gracefully. He promises not to overburden us with unrealistic expectations, but to allow us freedom and space to choose, plan, and grow.
(Adapted from The Intentional Woman: A Guide to Experiencing the Power of Your Story by Joan C. Webb and Carol Travilla. Published by NavPress)