I love those buffet lines don't you? There is just something about a buffet that gets my mouth watering and my eyes huge! You grab that plate, and you find yourself looking all around and everything just looks really good. If you are like me that is a problem. My eyes are bigger than my stomach, and I often put more on my plate than I can really handle.Sometimes we even grab the biggest plate possible, instead of one of those smaller plates, and we seem to fill it to the rim, to where its almost cascading off the plate. For some reason, we just pile it on and that plate gets heavier as we are now walking to our table, with our drink in hand and we are trying to balance it all. Once we are sitting down, we begin to eat, having little bites of everything, and soon we see that we are getting full, but can we really leave this extra food on our plate? Isn't that wasteful? So, yes, we try as we might, we get it all down,only to go up for dessert, because it just looks so grand.
Now, after we have eaten this restaurant out of all the good stuff, we now sit back, stuffed, about to blow, and we find ourselves saying, "Gosh, why did I eat all that food?" Hopefully, I am not the only one who has eyes bigger than her belly!
Too many times I should have just had the bowl of soup or even a light salad, but I seem to just dive right it, putting more on my plate than needed. Ever feel life is like that? As mom's we especially know the feeling, right? Whether you work inside your home or out, a mom has more than a full time job with all on her plate, but we seem to add more.
I am one of those that has a hard time saying no, but I am learning. I seem to sign up for everything under the sun, and then find myself exhausted. I am learning to back away from the table if you may say. Although everything looks really inviting and fun, even rewarding, it doesn't mean I am to try to do it all. You know what happens when we try to do more than our share? We feel like we are going to blow, just like after eating way too much.
Sometimes it is not God calling us to do more, but that mothering instinct to dive in over our heads to save everyone else, and sometimes we are the one left getting pulled out of the deep end of the pool.
Sometimes we heap too much on our plate, and that is easy, we just have to learn to back away and take things in stride, seeking what is most important and doing the Lord's will, not those around you. But life sometimes throws added things on our plate we were not expecting. Now, there is where the hard times come in. You are trying to walk away, but life just seems to be overflowing on your plate. Its then that the balancing act gets even harder carrying all that on one plate. Sometimes, it is almost as though we are one of those balancing acts where they have many plates spinning on poles. Been there with me? Too many times while trying to balance it all, I have let those plates hit the floor and crash into pieces. Then I feel as though more is piled on, for now I must clean up the mess I made.
Sometimes friends, we just gotta let the plates fall where they may. Its okay to say, "I can't do this anymore." When all seems to be flooding in, Jesus is there. He is ready to do all we cannot. Sometimes He is just waiting for us to admit there is too much, and give it over to Him to carry. Jesus knows how to balance it all, and He knows just how much our plate can handle and when we need help carrying it to the table. In Jesus we can find that source of strength that we didn't know was possible. In Jesus we can the peace to leave the table without guilt and shame. In Him, we can learn to say no, as He brings another to say yes. In those times in life where its just too much to carry, He will take that burden and lift it, so it is much lighter for us, but first we have to trust Him with all those plates.
We only have two hands, although we try to carry much more, we just can't. That's why it is so important to have a circle of support around you. Those you can go to for anything and say simply, "Help me."
If your load is too much today, Jesus is there waiting to carry it all for you. Learning to let go is one of the greatest gifts I have found. Learning that I don't have to try to do it all, and learning I can say no is not giving up, but it is simply letting go and letting God. That saying, "God will never give you more than you can handle" is not found in the bible. What we do find is that with all we have we can find strength in Him, and through Him all things are possible. When we can't, He can. God will never give us more than we can handle through Him. It is through those trying times that we see God move and work in us and those circumstances around us. When we open our hands to Him, there is nothing that is impossible, through Him, all things are more than possible, they are right before our eyes.
Philippians 4:4-7 "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:13 "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength."
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
