Chapter 7 – Making Time – Part 3

Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:58

 

Exercise 3: How Do I Refuse Thee? Let Me Count the Ways…

 

Think of some ways you can politely say no to other people’s requests for your time. Write at least three of them.

 

1.      I cannot give your project the attention that it requires or deserves at present.

2.     I am not currently taking on new projects. In fact, I am looking to choose a few that are important to me and whittle down the rest.

3.     Anyone who knows me knows that summer is the craziest time for children’s librarians. I count my years by Summer Reading and Vacation Bible School displays.

 

Of course, it rarely actually looks like that. Most likely I’ll just ignore you. And you’ll either be outrageously persistent or you’ll go away. I have a hard time saying no. Especially to things I really want to do. Until they prove not to be as exciting or rewarding as I anticipated.

 

I had a friend who made a list of all the things she was doing. And then she prioritized the crazy list. She picked the things that she loved the most and got rid of everything else. Guess what! I don’t remember the last time I saw her. Last summer? Maybe I’ll see her this summer in the library again. Did I see her so much before? Maybe not. I don’t really know.

 

Me? I’m afraid if I ask NOT to do something, then I won’t be asked to do anything. If I get rid of something, what if I cannot replace it? Why do I think it needs to be replaced anyway? I do things I don’t necessarily think I should be doing because for some reason I cannot do the things I desire to be doing.

 

Sometimes I’d just rather be doing SOMETHING rather than NOTHING at all. And then I do bow out of things that don’t seem to be paying off in the way I feel they should. And then there is gossip or rumor. It’s just as much about what you don’t do as what you DO do.

 

You look into the night sky and you see stars. Vast amounts of stars. But most of us neglect the spaces in between. The “dark matter” is every bit as important as the stars. It’s the fabric of space that knits us all together. Sometimes the empty spaces of a picture are more telling than the parts that are filled. Sometimes it is what you don’t say that is screaming. People notice where you ARE NOT more perhaps than where you ARE. Not that they will say anything (to you) about it.

 

I certainly pay attention to the details. And don’t always like what I see.

 

What if we invested more of our time and energy GOING to people rather than bringing them to us. We can reach more people by going to them than by requiring them to come to us. Rather than sitting in our offices planning events … why don’t we go out and reach individuals.

 

It occurred to me yesterday how very little I interact with people.  And how very much it is needed. I am very much plugged in. But I’ve got a faulty outlet because I am not connected. I am tired of listening to the same people. I’m bored. And disappointed.

 

I recall my stepfather telling my sister to finish her dinner plate or he would shove it down her throat. It is an old family joke. How long to we allow the fast food to be shoved down our throat?

 

And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Romans 5:5

 

This effort is starting to feel ridiculous ‘cause there is no Haggai 4:13 either.