Your Best Yes
There are days we, as women, really have it together. We get up on time, work out, get ready, make our kids breakfast AND lunch and get out the door in plenty of time to get them to school and ourselves to work. Our bills are paid, our to do lists are checked off and we feel really accomplished, like we might finally have this thing called life figured out. We are involved, present and mindful. We finally found a routine that WORKS. We ARE a super being… of sorts.
Then there are most days. Our alarms don’t go off, and we wake up 30 min late. We rush around to get everyone dressed, fed, lunches made and get out the door 20 minutes late. We rush to school, and to work. We are behind on commitments. Our to do lists are a consistent and ever present reminder of all the things we have not accomplished. My personal to do lists even have categories including home to do’s, work to do’s, kid to do’s, foundation to do’s. It gets daunting and overwhelming very quickly. We are stretched so thin that we can not give 100% to any one task. This leads to questioning life choices, commitments, and responsibilities. It’s easy to lose focus as everything begins to blur together. The exhaustion can be brutal.
I recently started reading a book, “The Best Yes” by Lysa Terkeurst. I quite honestly started reading this book because I was bored, my husband was out of town and my sweet mom kept urging me to read it. It caught my attention rather quickly. “Yes, I AM overwhelmed and a lot worn out!” ” Yes, I AM living with the stress of an overwhelmed schedule and aching with the sadness of an underwhelmed soul!” How could a book know my life so well? There were portions of the book that immediately struck me.
” All the while the acid of overactivity eats holes in our souls. And from these holes leaks the cry of the unfulfilled calling that never quite happened. We said yes to so much that we missed our “Best Yes” assignments – simply because we didn’t heed the warning of the whispers within that subtle space. I’m tired. I’m distracted. I’m disappointed in myself. I feel slightly used and more then slightly used up. ”
“We must not confuse the command to love with the disease to please. “
It is so easy to spread ourselves too thin simply because we can not imagine the disappointment in a “No.” The urge to provide, to give, to nurture, to help is so strong that we simply can not turn anyone or anything away. But at what cost to ourselves? At what cost to our families?
I was interviewed for an article recently called “Keeping the Balance” in The Wacoan. It really started a self dialogue about how well I am keeping the balance in my own busy life. I admittedly do not always do a good job. It is easy to sacrifice time for yourself, your sense of peace, of mindfulness and calm. It is easy to live in survival mode when you feel like you are working on something bigger then yourself. It becomes more difficult when you begin see the ripple effects of sacrificing time with your spouse, children, family and friends. When your involvement in too many activities starts affecting your performance. We start to lose apart of ourselves as all of the hollow yes’s chip away at our resilience. We BECOME hollow, going through the motions, never really fulfilled. Our to do lists become a burden.
I won’t lie, I haven’t finished the book. I just haven’t had the time. (Ironic?) I do feel like God is speaking to me though. Speaking to me through an article about keeping balance in my own life. Speaking to me through a book I had previously cast aside. We could all use a moment to reevaluate our commitments. To make sure we are leaving space for our best yes. Every person has purpose and although there may be questions or doubts about what that is yet, leave room to be able to step into that role when it presents itself. Don’t miss the opportunity to fulfill, or to be fulfilled by your best yes, simply because you are too busy to lift your head and take notice of it.
Our days may never go as planned, but we can control our commitments and our responsibilities. We can control the things we spend time, and energy on to create a sense of purpose and fulfillment instead of hollow busyness. Leave room for your BEST YES.
And read the book. I’m sure it has some great answers, if I could ever find the time to finish it. 😉
