“When people are aligned to their purpose, when the gap between values and behaviours closes, what people experience is a stream of ease ...”
-Roger Lewin, 2001
Last week, as I was preparing for Thanksgiving, this verse from John 6 hit me hard:
“Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.” -John 6:27
So while I try to feed my wholesome snacks and meals several times a day, I don’t offer my kids “food that endures” with the same regularity and intentionality.
To prepare a feast for 14 last Thursday, I knew I needed to live the “need Thee every hour” prayer. I was not as faithful as I should have been. Thankfully I had gracious family members who stepped in and helped pull the meal off satisfactorily. We ate well and enjoyed one another’s company. I am thankful.
Now that everyone is gone, though, I’m left with a big helping of cognitive dissonance. What I supposedly value and what I do are too far apart. For instance, I get carried away with crafting and let the housekeeping slide. Or I am on the computer instead of reading and playing with my children.
In "Ready to Be Surprised: Improvisation and Working with What Comes," Adrian Underhill asks a series of questions. I found them particularly relevant to my condition. Underhill writes:
“Do you have the experience that when you do is consistent with what is deeply important to you, you find you can work with a greater and almost inexhaustible energy? A state of flow maybe?"
“Whereas when what you do conflicts with what you hold important, there seems to be a different quality of energy available, and less of it?”
What’s clear in the midst of my time, energy, people, and task dilemmas is that I simply can’t do it all. The Son of Man promises to give me enduring food, that I can in turn share with my children and others. But will I let him?
Sources:
Lewin, Roger. Weaving Complexity in Business: Engaging the Soul at Work. 2001.
Underhill, Adrian. "Ready to Be Surprised: Improvisation and Working with What Comes." IATEFL Teacher Development Special Interest Group Newsletter, Issue 61, Summer 2009. pp. 6-9.
5 comments:
I found you through Home Sanctuary and am glad I did. I enjoyed your post today...thought provoking. Thanks for sharing. Definitely some things to think about.
You are definitely right. The things I claim to believe and cherish are often the things that I so easily neglect or take for granted! Thanks for sharing!
Wonderful post! I'm am loving Company Girls through Home Sanctuary. I will be thinking on this one for quite a while.
Aah yes, the gap between values and actions, and the busier you are the bigger it gets. It's something I'm constantly reminding myself to work on too.
Great post! If I am to truly focus on what matters most, then I must first admit in humility that what I value and what I spend my time doing are too far apart.
Thanks for the inspiring words.
-Melissa
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