We have tree stumps, weeds, and clumps of dirt all over our yard. When one says yard I think nice grass you can play in. Our yard was the opposite of that. It was a trap for all sorts of entanglements with the gopher holes, the torn down fences, and the piles of weeds. So, we decided that over the next few weeks we were going to rip all the junk out and get rid of it, till the dirt and get some grass planted. I started Friday and loaded the trailer with the branches and tree stumps from the yard. Then I ripped out a fence and raked all the weeds together. Then I took a the load of wood and dumped it at my in-laws, just so I could get back and burn all the weeds before my husband came home. I got it done, but I was exhausted. I knew we still had another couple of hours worth of work left with a little tractor and getting the tree stumps out. We worked until dark and the next day we finished off that project at our house and went to my in-laws to take out their tree stumps. I fell into bed Saturday night exhausted. My body ached but felt good from the physical labor. Monday came and I attacked the yard again with the tiller going full steam ahead. By Wednesday my body was so tired and sore I didn't want to do anything.
I felt it hit. I didn't want to keep up with my projects. I didn't think I could keep up this maniac pace of going and going. I knew from the cycle I was seeing that I was going to crash. I prayed to ask for help to be able to keep going and I had the gentle reminder come to mind of the story, "The Tortoise and the Hare". I instantly knew, I was the hare. The hare in the story just wants to win so he sprints from the get go. Then he gets so far ahead he lays down to rest. When he wakes up the tortoise has passed him, so he sprints off to pass the tortoise once again. Once he is far ahead and quite tired from sprinting he lays down to take a rest. This happens throughout the story. The racing to get ahead, then the resting from being tired and thinking he can take a break. The tortoise ends up winning because he was slow, steady, and consistent. He kept up a sustainable pace. What I have been doing throughout my life is being like the hare. I want to do it right now and I want it to be great, so I sprint. Then I get burnt out and decide to take a rest. Then it's weeks sometimes before I get back up to sprint again on the projects I have. This may seem crazy to do the back and forth thing, but I know there are probably times in everyone's lives when they have this experience.
I'm hoping that I can learn the importance of being steady and consistently doing things every day which will help me win the race. There is a scripture I love that says, "By small and simple things are great thing brought to pass." Small things are things we can consistently do every day that make the great things happen in our lives. Praying is something simple to do but do we do it consistently? Are we expressing gratitude every day? It's a really small thing to do, but when you do it the whole world seems so much brighter. Then you look at the other things in our lives that we do consistently that aren't helping us move forward. I'm sure that everyone has something like this in their life. I know I have things I do that aren't helping me and things that are. I know I'm much happier when I'm doing the small and simple actions that are bringing great blessings and changes into my life. When I make my baby giggle and we laugh together, there is nothing sweeter. When I consistently pray with my kids they learn who to turn to. When I sit and play on my phone, then that's what they want to do too. I'm the role model for my children and the one who gets to teach them how to learn consistency through small and simple things. I'm grateful for stories that teach me the lessons of life and how I can change to become someone better on my journey.
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