Pause: Why are you doing what you're doing?

This week I've been utterly overwhelmed with all of the different roles I am playing this semester.  I have my role as a student, as an RA, as an employee (in two separate positions), as prospective law student, as a friend, as a daughter, as a sister, as a girlfriend, and as a human being just trying to stay healthy.  To top it off, I discovered a crack in my windshield this morning that probably will need to be fixed before driving home for Spring Break at the end of this week.  I was gifted an awesome planner for Christmas that I've been using to schedule myself and prioritize projects.  At the beginning of the week I sat down to try and organize myself in this planner, scheduling out my days half hour by half hour, and I discovered that 24 hours in a day just simply is not enough.

I'm sure that most people can relate to the chaos of trying to fill more roles in life than you can count, regardless of your stage of life.  When something needs to go, though, what is the first thing?  I'll tell you that this week, for me, it was spending time with God.  Thank goodness that He's shouting loud enough for me to pause and pay attention to Him today, only halfway through the week, before my head explodes.

As I sit in our local coffee shop I am reminded that of all my roles only one really matters: my role as a follower of Christ.  If I'm seeking Him, everything else will work out.  I took a moment this morning to pause and listen to Him, looking through the red text in the New Testament, and was drawn to a fairly popular passage in Mark.  Jesus has just been asked which of the commandments is the most important and this is His answer: "Love the lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.  The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'  There is no commandment greater than these" (Mark 12:30-31).

This reminds me that nothing is as important as loving God and loving His people.  I shouldn't be fulfilling these roles that I am overwhelmed by this week simply because they're items on my to-do list, but because God has called me to each of them in this moment of life.  Every item that I check off should be to God's glory, even the most tedious task stops feeling stressful when its done to fulfill God's command to love Him and His people.  The papers I write this week are for God's glory so that I can learn about this world that He's created, the copy and paste data entry that I do this week is for God's glory so that I can share the load with coworkers and earn money to use to further His kingdom.  The conversations I have are to connect and love the people God has guided me to know.

Today Christ re-centered me on Him, and I challenge you to let Him do the same for you.  I guarantee that even the longest of to-do lists will seem less stressful when you are reminded of your call to life.  Your purpose here is to love God and love His people - do everything with that in your heart, and trust that God will help you find the time to do what needs to be done.

The Love Letter

Today, for better or worse, is Valentine's Day, a day that encourages us to appreciate and love the people in our lives, but for many it is difficult to not be cynical today.  Whether its because there's a relationship in your life that isn't what you want it to be, there isn't a relationship that you were hoping for, or simply because you think today is a "Hallmark holiday," today is an easy day for many to feel more estranged from those around them than ever.  As I work on a Bible assignment for my Biblical Ideas class, though, I am reminded of why today is even possible.

"We love because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19).  No matter your thoughts on Valentine's Day or the status of any of the relationships in your life, you are loved today and that love should inspire you to love those around you.  It's okay if you just don't feel it right now, but remind yourself that there is a God who loves you so much that He created you with a purpose.  You are not here by accident, you are not here to slide by in life.  God created you to be who you are and is shaping you to be who you are becoming to fulfill a purpose in this world. 

Read Psalm 90 if you need a reminder of this.  At first it may make you feel small, as the Psalmist puts God's greatness and infinitude side by side with our small and short lifespans, but rejoice in this:  God, who is so great, who has been God "Before the mountains were born or [He] brought forth the whole world" (Psalm 90:2), created you intentionally.  You are not an accident, and despite our lifespans being like new grass that "in the morning springs up new, but by evening it is dry and withered" (Psalm 90:6), God created you intentionally.  If He did not have a purpose for you, He would not have bothered to bring you forth into this world.  You are important.

The Lord, your God, came to this earth as Jesus Christ and gave His life so that you may have life eternal with Him.  That is true and absolute love.  He lived a perfect life and then took the punishment that you and I deserved out of pure love.  You are important and you are loved.

If today you are not feeling love in the air, take a look at some of the other Psalms.  Psalm 139, Psalm 23, and Psalm 24 in particular may be good reminders of how deeply the Lord cares for you.  Then I encourage you to read 1 John 4:7-21 to see how this love of God should inspire us to live today and every day.  Today, love those around you not because it's Valentine's Day or out of any obligation - love because God loved you first.  Love because His love radiates through you.  Love because His love is the only one that you'll ever need, and the only one that'll never fail.