Picture this person with me. Ready?

• She’s a self-proclaimed supermom

• She’s a wife who tries to take all the pressure off of her husband’s shoulders

• She’s a family member who shows up for every event

• She’s a friend who makes herself available at all times

• She’s a workaholic

• She’s a multitasking machine

• She doesn’t know how to say ‘no’ to anyone about anything and volunteers herself at every opportunity

• She fills her schedule until it’s overflowing and then packs a few more things in (because why not?)

• She hardly sleeps, has zero time for rest (because that seems lazy and selfish) and drinks a ton of coffee so she can cram more chaos in without missing a beat

• She can’t stand to fail because that would mean she’s a disappointment to someone else

• She thrives on feeling important and useful

• She’s everything to everybody but doesn’t feel like any of her actions ever quite measure up

This describes the person I used to be and the person I continue to fight against becoming again. I was nonstop in all directions, and I had good intentions for the most part. The problem was that I was so focused on being the hero in every situation that I forgot one super critical fact— I don’t have the qualifications to be anyone’s Savior, including my own. Jesus meets all the criteria, but I often tried to insert myself in his place. It was only when I slowly learned how to be more of a humble vessel for his grace as opposed to a neon billboard for my own importance that I began to realize the best way to be useful is to be AVAILABLE on his time, not mine.

Once I slowed my pace a bit (ok, God pressed my ‘pause’ button for me if I’m being totally accurate), I began to find genuine opportunities all around me where I could serve in a space of quality over quantity. Half helping everyone is life half cooking chicken, it’s a waste of something that could have been so good. No one benefits from half-cooked chicken.

So, take the time to do one thing right instead of 1,000 things in rushed succession. Stop worrying about keeping up appearances and start focusing on where the Lord intends to use you today. You can try as hard you want to appear strong, smart, helpful, fun, successful, self-sufficient, fully capable, (insert the rest of your list here), but you’ll never be able to hide the innerworkings of your heart from the One who only wants your desire to mirror his. Philippians 4:13 says,

I can do al things through him who strengthens me. (ESV)

This verse doesn’t say “I can do all things if I pretend everything is ok,” “I can do all things if I muster up enough inner strength to ignore the fact that I can’t do this on my own,” or “I can do all things because I’m simply convinced of how amazing I am.” Another very important thing this verse does NOT say is, “I SHOULD do all things all the time.” The point of this verse is that we are given the ability we need through Christ who will make his will possible as we lean on the power of his strength. HE will guide our paths, HE will align our priorities with his plan, and HE will fuel our actions so that our light can reflect his glory.

Please stop running around like that half-cooked chicken with it’s head cut off. It’s not healthy, it’s not helpful, and it’s not holy. It takes our eyes off of the one who will show us all the ways in which our purposes can be fulfilled by way of coming alongside others and, instead, averts our gaze to a pile of distractions designed by the devil himself. Take a time out, friends. Inhale, exhale, clear your calendar and take off your cape. Once you accept that your strength and direction come from Christ alone, your fractured existence will be made whole and your direction in this life will be illuminated with divine clarity.