 Remember the Oregon Trail computer game that you used to play in elementary school on those old Macintosh computers? If you're like me, you don't really know if you ever made it to the end of the trail...because that wasn't really the point. The REAL goal of Oregon Trail in the mind of an elementary-aged boy is how many buffalo can I kill! Halo...Call of Duty...forgettaboutit! We only needed one button to line up the crosshairs and put down those 8-bit beasts.
Once you got past the hunting portion of the game, most of the time leaving meat on the table because you couldn't carry it all with you, you would head out to travel the trail. You could pick which pace you wanted to travel: 1-A Steady Pace 2-A Strenuous Pace 3-A Grueling Pace. It was always tempting fate to travel too long at a Grueling Pace. It wasn't too long until a wheel would break or the inevitable illness would fall upon a member of your family. Just like it is with Oregon Trail, in life we get to set the pace in which we want to live. We can go at a steady pace, getting things done as they come. We can go at a strenuous pace, making sure that nothing falls through the cracks, always putting our best foot forward. We can go at a grueling pace, sacrificing necessary health measures to try to sustain more demands than any person is meant to try and take on themselves. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Make. Make. Make. Make. Make. Get. Get. Get. Get. Get. Give. Give. Give. Give. Give. zzzZZZzzz....Wake up...Repeat. The thing is about living life at a grueling pace, is that we don't really have to work to get there. Eventually the demands of life will drive us there...if we don't figure out how to say, "no". Many times we say "yes" with the noblest of intentions. Rationalizing...it's not THAT difficult. It won't take THAT long. It will take LONGER to teach someone else to do it. So we put it on our tab and keep grinding away. Can We Just Stop For A Minute? Parents, don't miss this. We are responsible for creating a sustainable rhythm in our homes. Do we really need to play three sports? Do we really need to clean everything right away? Do we really need to keep checking email when we're not at the office? Listen to Jesus... "you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed--or indeed only one." Luke 10:41 Take some time, early in the morning. Allow this to set the tone for the rest of your day. Be with Jesus. Read from the Bible. Write in a journal. Pray. Spend time at Jesus' feet. Ask Him what should be a part of your schedule. Author Bob Goff talks about quitting something every week in order to create margin for the most important things to win out. “I used to be afraid of failing at something that really mattered to me, but now I’m more afraid of succeeding at things that don’t matter.” – Bob Goff Is the pace that you're currently running sustainable? Oh, I know, it's just for a season, right? ...so why not plan now how you will scale back once this season is finished? One more thing, the most important thing that you can give to your children is an example of what it looks like to walk with Jesus. His yoke is easy; His burden is light. |