What
would you do if you won the lottery?
I’ve heard people say that they would quit their jobs and just live the
good life: sleep in; go on one vacation after another; eat, drink, and be
merry. I wonder if it would ever get
old? I wonder if all that freedom from
responsibilities and pressures would breed any emptiness or purposelessness?
Each
year, no matter how great our summer vacation was, I welcome the routine of a
new school year. Summer is filled with
late breakfasts, leisure mornings, vacations, and generally speaking, the pace
is a relaxed one. If there are teenagers
in the house that translates to sleeping in till 11:00, skipping breakfast and
going straight for lunch, and alternating between laying by the pool and laying
in front of the T.V.
I
exercised the other morning and realized that I haven’t stepped on my treadmill
since school was in session three months ago. You’d think with the more relaxed
pace I would have been even more diligent and consistent with my work out
routine. Not so. I could blame it on the kids – all the running
around and having to feed them so frequently.
But the truth is, I slept in plenty, skipped a few breakfasts myself,
and enjoyed the leisure of not having to be anywhere at any particular time.
The
kids are back at school, which means my husband and I are able to actually have
a complete conversation for the first time in two and a half months. And though I am enjoying the quiet house, I
feel like I’m in some sort of boot camp.
Early mornings, rigid schedules, never-ending forms to fill out, responsibilities
galore. It’s not an easy adjustment, but
something about it feels right. Because
while good for a season, I have found that this sort of smooth-sailing,
loosy-goosy way of living doesn’t produce the disciplined, balanced, healthy
lifestyle I desire. The external
pressures of having to set the alarm clock, pack lunches, shower early, plan
out meals, make coffee dates with friends, etc… means I am more intentional
about making healthier choices. Truth is, I need this kind of structure.
And
these aren’t the only kinds of external pressures I find beneficial. Stress on the outside seems to bring out
stuff on the inside that needs to be addressed. Challenges show me where I need
to grow. Experiences that push me out of
my comfort zone give me opportunities to confront my fears so I can live in increasing
freedom. I need limitations so I can
live in greater dependence on God, and it’s in moments of loneliness that I
fully experience that God is with me.
God knows me. And He loves me.
Hebrews
12:11 “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of
righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
