Committed

In college, I basically managed to totally over commit myself constantly – like most everyone. When I started my job 6 months out of college, I had all I could handle with getting used to a demanding job and preparing for Miss Minnesota all at once. When I came to the cities two years ago for a promotion, I did nothing but work – flying twice a week and working my brains out.

Then last year I was put into a new role and had to get used to not being so busy. I went from working all the time and doing nothing else to working like a normal person and not having anything else to do. So I started looking for things to do. I got more involved at church and I found a basketball league. That was a good amount of things to do and it left time for spontaneous fun with friends.

Over this summer I found myself getting a little bored (church commitments go down and basketball was on break). So I prepared for fall by signing up for TOO MUCH! I looked forward to basketball, and decided to also sign up for tennis. I signed up for an intense Bible study. I looked forward to being on the Welcome Ministry at church, but was also still needed for Children’s Ministry (and just recently I’ve been asked to help at the youth meetings). Church also started a financial class. Add in small group meetings, a few extra work meetings here and there, babysitting now and then, and I am spent!

This past weekend I had only two plans: a movie with friends and the youth meeting at church on Saturday night. I had a chance to sleep in on Saturday, enjoy coffee and a magazine in bed, get my entire “urgent to do list” (along with some of my “non-urgent to do list”) done, clean the house, go to the grocery store, watch the Gophers, and head off to the meeting. It was a WONDERFUL day! When I slow down like that, I realize what being over committed does to me. It makes me….snippy. And cranky. It makes me rushed. The first thing to go is exercising. The next thing to go is devotional time. It’s not good.

I’m glad I had the weekend to assess things. I don’t think at this point that I need to drop anything I’m currently doing (though it will be amazing to have my Wednesdays back when the financial class is done), but I do need to prepare for the Holiday season. Hard to believe that next week is Thanksgiving. Just like everyone else, my schedule gets busier this time of year. So I’ve committed to myself that I’m going to need to say “no” (GASP!) to some things this year, because I am at my max level of being busy.

The trouble is that I really WANT to do it all, and I really ENJOY doing it all! But strange as it seems to those who see me at all these activities, I am an introvert (GASP AGAIN)! It’s true. My family and most people who have lived with me for any amount of time can tell you this. I am a very OUTGOING introvert, but I definitely don’t get charged up by being around people – I get EXHAUSTED! I need time to myself to recharge my battery (my older sister has no idea what this is like – she is what we call an outgoing extrovert. If you think I am the life of the party – you should meet her!).

My mom and a good friend of hers used to say that the Devil just loves how busy we are. And I think there is truth to that. Even if you are only busy with ministry “things” – you are nonetheless busy and sin starts to creep in when you get tired, or you let your guard down at all, or you skip your quiet times. So we’ll see how the next six weeks go, but I’m glad I realized that I will need to use the “no” word more often before I got ahead of myself…..again.