Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Stress and Patience

There are some days that by the end of the day there are more tasks left to accomplish than there are hours left to get them done. Today has been one of those days, I have been writing and proofing and trying to meet multiple project deadlines. I feel that I am only getting a fraction done that I need to get done. The projects pile up and there is research to do, grants to write, a capital campaign to plan, sermons to write, music to prepare, events to plan, dogs to take care of, a bunny to herd, a house to clean, papers to file, meetings to attend, strategic planning to plan and somewhere in all of this, I actually will sleep.

During times like this I can feel the stress begin to build up. My neck gets tight, my stomach clenches and I get tunnel focus. I also seem to suffer from a lack of patience. Especially when dealing with interruptions to my day. telephone calls, people popping into my office, computer problems … all of which is pulling me from what I actually need to do.

It dawned on me as I felt the pressure building today that I was causing my own problem. Colossians 3:12 came to mind.

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved,
clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience."

Less of me and more of Christ, that is the bottom line. It sounds so easy, but sometimes it is so hard. But I guess it comes down once again to the choices I make. Tonight I choose Christ.

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