"Do not put on your shoulders what God has not put there."
People keep asking me what my "goal word" for 2015 -- SHED -- means. It sounds so unspiritual and "sheds" are just another part of my every day work vocabulary as a storage facility manager. Does SHED even fuse with a goal that brings maximum impact for the Lord?
After days of pondering, it dawned on me that the above quote answers both questions.
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Let me track back to the 1970's. I clearly remember when a young man on his way to becoming a leader in the fellowship of believers told me this after I had failed to help someone the way I wanted to help. I will always be thankful to Kevin Skidmore* for this wisdom....back when I wanted to save the world:
DO NOT PUT ON
YOUR SHOULDERS
WHAT GOD HAS NOT!
Isn't that thought FREEING?
INDEED -- "Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom." 2 Corinthians 3:17
Four states, four kids, two countries, and 25 years of marriage have piled way more "motorcycles of life" on my shoulders than God put there and they are starting to, well, rust! Those include pounds, things, attitudes, emotions and on and on. That stuff HAS to go!
Some of it is just physical like an unpacked garage or pounds from food in the fast lane. These kind of things are thieves of health, time and peace. Most definitely, God is NOT a thief.
A lot boils down to choices God didn't put in my life, like reading too many of the same kinds of self help books. While they may be GOOD things, they are too often not God's BEST. The good has a subtle way of squeezing away His best opportunities -- like putting more of HIS Word in mind or praying for a friend.
Some of the emotional weight stems from attitudes like discontentment or even vain imaginations (which my mom always called "pipe dreams.") The Bible clearly says to be of sober mind, meaning accurately assessing things -- in other words, get real. Like the truth is that Steve & I probably couldn't live in the City of Ice again during the winters. It doesn't mean be a pessimist, but it means understanding THIS season of life and being content with it. (Like true contentment in driving 4 teens around...and around...and around.) That frees my mind to LIVE in the present, not my version of the future or the past.
Some of it is spiritual such as fear or wobbly faith. When our garage is like overstuffed armchairs, there is no room for the VEHICLE which is SUPPOSED to be there. There's hardly any room for US to walk in there either. It's choking. So when life is crowded with things that God didn't put there, it's an awfully tiny space allotted for the vehicle of the Holy Spirit.
So here it is...the A-HA moment! Getting rid of the stuff that is NOT supposed to be there opens up room for God to maximize His impact.
A lot boils down to choices God didn't put in my life, like reading too many of the same kinds of self help books. While they may be GOOD things, they are too often not God's BEST. The good has a subtle way of squeezing away His best opportunities -- like putting more of HIS Word in mind or praying for a friend.
Some of the emotional weight stems from attitudes like discontentment or even vain imaginations (which my mom always called "pipe dreams.") The Bible clearly says to be of sober mind, meaning accurately assessing things -- in other words, get real. Like the truth is that Steve & I probably couldn't live in the City of Ice again during the winters. It doesn't mean be a pessimist, but it means understanding THIS season of life and being content with it. (Like true contentment in driving 4 teens around...and around...and around.) That frees my mind to LIVE in the present, not my version of the future or the past.
Some of it is spiritual such as fear or wobbly faith. When our garage is like overstuffed armchairs, there is no room for the VEHICLE which is SUPPOSED to be there. There's hardly any room for US to walk in there either. It's choking. So when life is crowded with things that God didn't put there, it's an awfully tiny space allotted for the vehicle of the Holy Spirit.
So here it is...the A-HA moment! Getting rid of the stuff that is NOT supposed to be there opens up room for God to maximize His impact.
Funny how the very goal we set forth can turn back on us! When I look at the list of all the things I want to shed, I am overwhelmed all over again! But that is Adding Another Layer of Stuff God DID NOT PUT ON MY SHOULDERS! So I refuse that addition, and trust that LITTLE BY LITTLE, I can through Christ who gives me the strength, SHED all He wants gone, in His own time.
Many of the posts this year may be about the shedding -- whether to seek your advice, to update progress, or to sort out thoughts.
I call this the "SHEDDING promise"........The inspiration photo for the year.
* Alongside his beautiful wife Jan, Kevin Skidmore has indeed become a leader of the faith in ministry & missions as well as in communication & colleges over the years.
