Mind Your Own Business!

"and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life:  You should mind your own business and work with your hands..."  1 Thessalonians 4:11

I recently helped my grandmother sort through my great-grandmother's jewelry.  My great-grandmother, Maw, had a love for all that sparkled along with a knack for making necklaces that would rival anything Charming Charlie has to offer. 

As we combed through the pieces, I dreamed of all the ways I could incorporate these treasures into my wardrobe.  But that dream quickly became a jumbled up, tangled up nightmare!  At least a gazillion (okay, maybe it was more like 7 but it might as well have been a gazillion) of the strands were connected in a maze of mess.

Now, I am not exactly known for my patience.  In fact, if my precious grandmother hadn't been sitting by my side, I probably would have ripped them apart Hulk style and been done with it.  Thankfully, we were able to get them all separated and of course, it was well worth every second of the untangling process.  On a side note, if you ever need me to be patient, the promise of homemade coconut cake seems to help. 

Where is this lovely story leading you might ask?  Well, yesterday as I sat down on the back porch to read my Bible and pray, I couldn't focus.  My mind felt just like those jumbled up, tangled up necklaces; thoughts running in every direction but leading nowhere and beads of emotion making it impossible to unwind.

As I asked God to untangle the mess, it dawned on me that much of what was occupying my thoughts was none of my concern.  And wouldn't you know it, the Bible has a verse for that!  1 Thessalonians 4:11 says to "make it your ambition to lead a quiet life:  You should mind your own business and work with your hands..."  That's pretty straight forward, huh?

Unfortunately, it can be pretty hard to mind your own business sometimes.  It seems like we are constantly being bombarded with other people's business with every call, text or scroll through social media.  It's easy to get distracted and caught up before you even realize it.  I love that the verse says to work with your hands (note that it says hands, not scrolling thumb!) because it is hard to wander into someone else's business when you are actively working on your own.

Once I removed all the thoughts that were none of my business, my mind felt less jumbly and my burden seemed lighter.  Of course being both Type A, as y'all well know, and forgetful to boot, I thought it would be best to see my responsibilities (my business) in writing. 

Look how small the list is!  Now that's doable!  

The Cost of Perfection

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ's power may rest on me.  2 Corinthians 12:9

I know I'm not perfect but I sure want to be.  I think even my list of what I want to improve upon...is well...perfect.  I'm not seeking the perfect body, home, hubby or kids.  I'm not hoping to obtain the perfect balance in my bank account or the perfect wardrobe.  I want good, Christiany perfection. I want to be a perfect mom and wife.  I want to be a more obedient and trusting child of God; a Proverbs 31 kind of woman.  I want to write perfect blog posts!

I want all of this perfection for the right reasons and for the right people.  I want it so those around me will see how awesome God is and want to know Him better.  All good things, but honestly, it's not working out too well for me.  I simply can't pull off perfection and striving for it is exhausting (seriously, EXHAUSTING)! 

Repeatedly falling short of my unrealistic expectations is disappointing (and EXHAUSTING).  We simply weren't meant to be perfect so it's like a right handed person trying to do everything left handed.  It's EXHAUSTING people!

But the absolute worst part about seeking perfection is that it often causes us to do the opposite of what we were hoping to achieve in the first place.  Take my blog for example...I'm so hung up on wanting each post to measure up to some imagined level that I often find it hard to post what I write in fear that it will fall short.  My goal is to share what God is doing in my life but I often end up not sharing at all. 

What good is a boat that never leaves the dock?  What good is a voice that's never heard? 

At some point, we have to realize that a messy message is often better than no message at all.  God can use messy and imperfect.  On the other hand, He can't use what we never do!  And why on earth do we set such high standards for ourselves when the One who called us, the only one capable of perfection wants to use us just the way we are? 

2 Corinthians 12:9 says that His power is made perfect in our weaknesses. God knew I couldn't spell, loved run-on sentences and misused commas when He called me to start In the Wright Direction and guess what?  Not one of you have commented on my lack of grammar skills (don't take that as an invitation to start).

I know you've probably seen lists like this before but I hope you'll take a look anyway:

Jeremiah was too young

Abraham was too old

Moses stuttered

Gideon was afraid

Rahab was a prostitute

David was an adulterer and murderer

Jonah ran from God

Peter denied Christ

Martha was a worry wart

Lazarus was dead

and yet God used every single one of them and their testimonies are still changing lives today.  What's your excuse?  God gave us these examples to demolish our excuses and give us hope.  He wants to use you just the way you are.

I hope you'll pray for me as I battle my excuses for not writing more often and if you let me know, I'll pray for you too.

P.S. - Brandall, my editor,  wants it noted that I already have the "perfect husband," and he corrected 4 grammatical errors in this post.