Good Solid Rain.

When it really rains here at the river, my heart pitter patters.

It's a solid rain this morning--steady on our porch's tin roof.  It's got a rhythm and it soothes the most tired pregnant lady.

My Keurig is the only thing competing for its attention as it spurts the last of my single cup of coffee.

I breathe in the aroma, sit at my table, and exhale. 

The clutter the laundry the kids the dog the schoolwork the groceries the stuff can all wait for a few minutes.  This small amount of time I'm taking for myself won't complicate matters too much by the end of the day.

And you need to take some time for YOU today as well. 

Escape to the shower (or the tub if you're feeling really needy), find a good book, pray, curl up for a nap, eat something off the diet plan, call someone, or just enjoy the morning like I am.  Emily talked this week about operating at the speed of frantic  with another post to read about the same thing.  

I'm the world's worst about over committing myself to do all things for all people to make all people happy with all the things I offer to do for them.  I've seen you teachers and moms and dads and friends and pastors and pastors' wives and musicians and artists and generally good, wonderful people do the same thing as you kill yourselves to complete this project for this person and that group and those things.  

Because it's nice.  Because it's good.  Because it helps others.  

But you are only one person.  

You were created to do only a few things well--and the Lord did not create you to handle ALL THE THINGS--because He has that under control (and, He just does not need our help with managing the business of the world).  While we may be able to help those in our immediate circles and families--we cannot be all things for all people at all times.  Especially when we cannot even find time to take care of ourselves and our physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.  How helpful can we really be if we are falling apart trying to keep the world together?  

So many of us get caught in the trap of needing to be needed.  We are lost in the desire to matter to those who need us.  We survive off the praise of being workhorses and getting that simple "thank you" from the people we have helped.  We feel slightly (ok, largely) offended when we exert ourselves without a single "good job."  We want the world to know that we are good at what we do.  

And it's all because we find worth in the opinions of others.  

We find worth in the nice things they say about us.  

We find worth in the good deeds we have done.  

I've talked about this before (and I talk about it a lot because my heart needs to hear it almost daily).  It's time to remember that our Worth comes from the Lord.  When we find our worth in Him, it becomes less about being needed, and remembering His desire for us overwhelms the demands of the world.  His desire for us led Him to death on a cross.  His desire for me made Him take on all of my sins and shames and He held it on His shoulders in complete agony.  

He died so that I could Live.  

And He died that I might live a life free from the pressure to be.      

My completeness comes from Him.  My titles and jobs and deeds are not going to earn the satisfaction that this world promises.  At the end of the day, I need to worry that I have done well in His eyes, rather than in the eyes of my peers and acquaintances.    I need to stop trying to promote myself and my deeds and my to-dos and the "woe is me"s and the '"look at meeeee!"s and start focusing on the Grace, Love, and Mercy that has been offered freely to me.

It's time to reassess the priority list.  And everything else will fall into place. 

Enjoy your weekend.