12 January 2022
I knew I was a little stressed. There was no real reason for it.
I was actually on holidays, a stay home holiday. I had a list of things I wanted to do, to achieve. I’m a list person if you don’t know by now. I get a sense of achievement, a sense of completion when my list gets smaller.
I guess I was trying to do too much in a short space of time. I had also not slept very well for a week with an old back shoulder muscle pain which had raised its angry head again.
I picked up the one bottle and went to grab the next glass bottle and knocked it off the ledge and smashed it all over the floor.
I groaned and said, “sorry.”
I was in a shop buying some medicine and my rushing caused me to bump the glass jar. I was feeling jittery. Again, no real reason other than trying to rush to get to my next chore on my list.
Later that day I was packing up a pantry, I did not have the flour container (yes it had to be the flour) properly in my hands and I dropped it all over the clean kitchen floor.
I groaned again – another chore now – to clean the floor.
Later that same day I was again packing items into bags and I bumped two glass drinking bottles. I groaned again. The blessing was my daughter caught them before they hit the tiles.
“Mum!” She said, “what’s up?”
“Just rushing”, I said.
My nerves felt on edge, again the jittery feeling.
So, I went and sat down. Reflecting upon why my body was acting the way it was, I realised the lack of sleep and the extra rushing around was overloading my body too much.
We are limited in our abilities. I am not superwoman. Even if I think I am invincible.
What was God telling me through all of this?
Then I read Zechariah:
Not by might, not by power, but by my spirit.
Zechariah 4:6
The Jewish people were rebuilding the temple, working hard. But the prophet Zechariah was telling them that it will only properly be rebuilt by God, by His Spirit.
Yes God wants us to work and work diligently, but the work, whatever it is, working in our families, working in our careers, working in our ministries, working in our homes, all will only be fully achieved with the power and Spirit of God.
My rushing around and overloading myself too much and getting jittery was not doing my work any good or anything I wanted to achieve.
I needed to slow down. Actually, I needed to decrease my list, my workload and enjoy my home holiday. I needed to listen to my body, to my spirit. I needed to listen to God’s spirit talking to mine.
I felt that God was saying that He is interested in all of my life, my day to day life, even my chores. I need to give Him everything about me, my everyday. And the peace that only He brings will surround me, infuse into me and no longer, even with lack of sleep will I feel jittery.
I needed to go have an afternoon sleep (a nanna nap.) My body needed it. I needed it.
No guilty feelings on not getting my work done. Relax.
Oh, I breathed a sigh of relief.
I smiled.
I walked into the house. Told everyone that dinner was going to be late. I crawled into bed and lay down to have a peaceful guilt-free sleep.
Where do you need to slow down with your work and let the Spirit lead?
May these jottings from my journal inspire you to believe in and fall in love with Christ- the hope of the world, as stated in Jeremiah 17:7, ‘Blessed is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the Lord and whose hope and confident expectation is the Lord!’
Love
Rosemary
Every week groups of ladies meet together to chat about the things I raise in my weekly blog post and to chat about life in general. We call these ‘Heart Connect’ groups. If you would like more information please click HERE.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
What is God’s Spirit saying to you?
Where do you need to slow down with your work and let the Spirit lead?
7 Comments
Valerie Lack
Rosemary, I can so relate to this story of your horrible day. My lists are in my head and I cannot rest until they are completed. My mother died at age 103 and, we must not forget, a half. In her 100th year, I was complaining to her one day about there not being enough hours in the day, she was 27 years older than me, so I am not a spring chicken. Her reply ” there have always been 24 hours in a day, we had to make do with 24, so must you” I miss her little quips. She also told me to, ” LISTEN TO YOUR BODY” It surely lets us know when it had had enough.
Maria
Oh Rosemary. That was me yesterday! Thank you for reminding me that all will be done with the power and Spirit of God. Peace has descended upon me.
Rae
Thank you Rosemary for reminding us to pray when we are not feeling up to our everyday chores, and that we are all human. Blessings for you
Silas Chauhan
I am not a lady but a man and I enjoy every day you say god bless you and keep you safe
Lynda Czyz
I see myself in you in so many ways! Most of the time I think I am the only one that can act or think this way. Thank you for your honesty and reminder to remember EASY DOES IT.
Valerie Simms
Rosemary I will have to let you know that the scripture verse you quoted here Zechariah 4 : 6… Not by might, not by power but by My Spirit, says the Lord, popped into my head out of the blue a few days ago! I began to wonder why this scripture verse popped up. Was it my present circumstance? Was it my impatience to see change in my life? Was it the disappointment to see change in my loved ones? In my relationships?… Days later I started to feel unwell. I prayed to the Lord for help as I was running a temperature. I put myself to bed as I thought the Lord would want me to rest. I took two Panadol and when I awoke the temperature had dropped. The congestion in the nostrils had eased. i heard my husband say to me later, ” Do you still want to go?… Do you still want to see your mother?” I said ” Yes”. The last time I saw my Mum was at my Dad’s funeral, more than 6 years ago! She is 87 and is frail, depressed and lonely. I have prayed to the Lord to see her before her situation becomes any worse. Then this flu came up out of nowhere! I have another two weeks to recover and one week before I get my ears tested! If you Rosemary and any of the ladies here would like to pray with me that i will recover in time! That it won’t be by might, nor by power but by My Spirit say’s the Lord! I would very much appreciate your help! May the Lord bless you Rosemary and all the ladies and gentlemen who follow your blog!!!
Jeanette Easton
Really feeling for you Rosemary, please listen to your body, what has to be done will still be there tomorrow but be assured God will be there and get you through. Thinking of you precious lady. 🙏🤗