All or Nothing and I’m not talking about Jesus. Now it would be super spiritual of me if I used this little blog of my excess thoughts to challenge you to live an “all or nothing” life in Christ. But that is not where I’m headed. How many times do you sweep and vacuum a week? Super spiritual questions right!
Well, this is my problem. I sweep and vacuum almost daily. Sometimes, I’ll go a day in between sweeping the hardwood floors and vacuuming the front room but for the most part it has become a daily activity. Now granted, I have 2 dogs, 2 kids and 2 head of very long hair….which in and of itself explains the NEED to sweep and vacuum. Let me put it this way, if I saved up all the hair that I swept up on a daily basis, I’d have enough to double knit a California King comforter in about 3-6 months. However, the sweeping and vacuuming is actually part of a completely different issue, unrelated to hairballs.
I’m an all or nothing girl. Have I shared this before? It seems eerily familiar. Maybe because its my daily battle but I’m learning to come to terms with this issue and my margins are extending and life is actually becoming more enjoyable. However, it’s a battle and by battle I mean one of epic proportions! I am either completely obsessive about something or completely detached. Seriously, either the WHOLE house needs to be clean at one time or why bother cleaning up a thing. I should either train at the gym for a triathlon or sit on my couch eating chocolate. I either tithe 10% of my income or don’t give anything. Save $1,000 a month or blow it all! This may have just put me into the crazy woman category and actually those statements are not completely true. I do just clean portions of my house. I will go work out just to burn enough calories to eat the chocolate. I give, even in the times of poverty and I save way less then $1,000/month….but the feeling that when doing less the ALL perhaps means I should just do nothing, continues to nag at me. Am I just speaking out an issue that only plagues me or do you have some hang-ups in areas like this as well?.
As I was furiously cleaning my bathroom and beating myself up for not being driven to bleach my entire house from top to bottom, I began to think what the root of all this was about. I swept and vacuumed last night, changed the kids sheets, the kitchen was spotless and my room was looking pretty darn good. I’m debt free, I saved money last month and worked out a handful of times this week. Why not leave well enough alone and be content right where I was? Why did I feel “less-than” because everything wasn’t all done at one time?
After all, isn’t it Christ-like to be an ALL type of person in every area of life? Go hard or go home, right! Didn’t Jesus say unless you sell everything, forsake your whole family, etc…you won’t enter the Kingdom of heaven? Sure those were said, but it also says cast your burdens upon Jesus. The battle is the Lords. Yes, all these things are true and really it comes down to balance. One thing I have decided to not be balanced on is weighing every thought and choice and part of my life with the Word of God. Here is what I found to bring me to a place of peace for today in this tug of war between ALL or Nothing.
Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:39
That is one “nothing” I’ll be content to live in…nothing separating me from the love of GOD. Not un-vacuumed carpets, not less then 10% giving, not even a flabby belly. Nope, no separation here. Praising God for the balance of His Love.
Even God didn’t get it “all done” in one day. It took 6 and He even took the time to rest on the 7th. I have to admit – I like to have it all done at once too, especially house cleaning. But once it’s done you’re just going to have to do it all over again soon anyway, so why not go with the “little bit” at a time and give yourself some time to rest. After all, that’s what He did and it worked out just fine.