Juggling Eggs

Have you ever felt like you spend your day juggling eggs?

Most people can juggle 3 or 4 eggs without panicking.

However, “life” has a sense of humor and seems to get a kick out of throwing unexpected circumstances into your daily routine. 

So there you are, trudging through your daily routine, juggling your 3 eggs, when without notice, “life” tosses another 3 eggs into the air for you to keep track of.  At this point, most people mutter some sort of expletive your mother would never allow you to use in church.

So here I am, trudging through the fall season, muttering complaints about having to park my motorcycle and the rising price of gas, when out of the blue ~ WHAM ~ 3 more eggs get toss into my daily routine. 

Don’t get me wrong, I love being busy.  And I love having a variety of activities, but have you ever noticed that some activities move you out of your comfort zone and into “the land where nothing is funny”? 

So today, I made 2 observations about these unwelcome activities:

(a)  They take a long time to recover from ~ they seem to drain your reserves and leave you exhausted

(b)  They tempt me to try and “control” things and people that are not supposed to be mine to control 

I know I am rambling, but I suspect that somewhere in all these words, there is a sliver of truth that will stick where it is needed. 

Have you ever noticed that there are some difficult, complicated activities that you seem to be able to do with ease?  And for whatever reason, they don’t seem to suck the life out of you? 

Then there are other activities that are fairly routine that others can handle without much effort ~ yet they drain the life out of you and take days to recover from?

I find this interesting and try to evaluate which activities I am most gifted to do and spend the majority of my time focused on them.  And the activities that I seem ill fitted to accomplish and leave me exhausted, keep them to a minimum. 

So back to my juggling eggs metaphor. 

If I have 6 eggs in the air, but they are projects that the good Lord gifted me to perform, I simply use my time more wisely and keep moving forward.

Yet, if the 6 eggs in the air are projects that I am not well suited for, then I have to slow down and focus my resources to insure everything is handled and I don’t start dropping eggs.

My final observation focuses on the 6 eggs I am not well equipped to handle.  I find that in my struggle to perform adequately in an area out of my comfort zone, I tend to either micromanage or control.  Both of which rob me of my joy and peace because I am attempting to do work which is for God and God alone. 

It is important that each of us recognize our boundaries and limitations.  When I reach a point where there are 32 eggs in the air and I am burning the candle at both ends, the problem is on my end and the solution can only be found in moving back into a healthy relationship with God. 

“You can make many plans,

but the Lord’s purpose will prevail”
Proverbs 19:21

“Humanly speaking, it is impossible.

but with God everything is possible”
Matthew 19:26

Jesus said, “That is why I tell you not to worry

about everyday life – whether you have enough
food to eat or enough clothes to wear.
for life is more than food,
and your body more than clothing.
Look at the Ravens. 
they don’t plant or harvest or store food
in barns, for God feeds them.
And you are more valuable to Him than any birds.
Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that,
what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?”
Luke 12:22-26