When You Have Too Much To Do…

This morning I woke up early.  Much earlier than normal.  As I thought about the day and the week, I could feel a heaviness.  I thought about some of the following:

• Things I have to do today or this week.
• Concerns I have regarding my children and others as well.
• Situations that frustrate me and for which I do not see immediate solutions.
• A sense of being behind or late (regarding some need)

Now I could get very specific with each one of these.  However, I don’t need to do that at this point.  I suspect you can identify with some or all of what was just said.  Far too often, I have allowed myself to get completely burdened by all of this.  When that happens, the day feels "heavy."   

And–if I’m not careful, as the day goes on, I can begin to brood.

• Feelings of resentment.  ("I don’t like this and shouldn’t have to be dealing with this!") 
• Feelings of aloneness. ("Am I the only one who cares about this?") 
• Finally–feelings of anger. ("Good grief!  This guy is making my day even more difficult") 

As a result, there is not a lot of joy in the moment because I am constantly thinking of what should have happened in the past or what needs to happen in the future.  Does that sound familiar to you?

This morning, I handled this differently.  As soon as the rush of thoughts, began, I began to pray, "God I can not do all of this."  In fact, I said this a number of times.  It occurred to me how important it is to confess this.  After all, this is reality.

Then, I began to think about Jesus. 

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Mt. 6:34). 

Just before that verse, Jesus tells those who would follow him to "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness."  He seemed to be able to do that and live one day at a time.  There seemed to be enough time for Jesus to do whatever needed to be done within a day.

When I read the Gospels, I can often see anxiety–especially among his closest followers or some of the religious people.  I don’t see this kind of daily anxiety in him.  He goes about his day aware of who he is and what he is about.

Now I suspect I would do well to trust God today and simply live in the presence of Jesus.  No matter what happens, the day will matter.