Skip to main content

Obligations

So, you made it through Monday, presumably... How many days have we wished away, that could have been significant in our life--or the life of another--if we had only "exerted ourselves," as Jane Austen so beautifully described it? So many things we know we should do--yet we don't.

Yesterday, my husband traveled hundreds of miles for a 30-minute funeral, but I had encouraged him to go. It was important to the family, overall, but especially meaningful to the immediate family of his great uncle, who passed away.  Many times in our lives, we have these opportunities. Sometimes we take them; sometimes we do not. I have found that I always regret NOT going, rather than the reverse. It made me think -- it's time to look at our social and familial obligations in a different way.

Once I read something written by a life coach who encouraged the philosophy of taking each day more deliberately--especially in the way we verbalize it. Instead of "I have to go to the store...to a meeting...to a funeral," what if we said (and thought) "I plan to go to the store...to a meeting...to a funeral." The change in perspective--and accompanying change in vernacular--all pivots on the approach of living every part of your day on purpose...and with purpose. It's like walking your dog, instead of letting it walk you. 

Look at today. Really look. Where are you going? With whom will you speak? Where can you make an improvement, or at least an impact, instead of just being along for the ride? What about that girl in the office who has no friends--can you offer to get her some coffee or tea?  What about that invitation to the devotion group, or family get-together that you keep turning down? What about the cleaning lady--do you even know her name? 

Exert yourself. Step out of your "I-had-rather-stay-home-in-my-sweatpants" zone and make someone else happy by showing up, after all. This life is not all about you: you have countless chances every day to brighten or dampen someone's spirits, to please or disappoint, to be satisfied that you fulfilled your purpose and stood honorably by your obligations, or to go to bed with that familiar, gnawing guilt.

So, let it begin today.  Let's all put a tight leash on our daily lives and live them deliberately, instead of just letting things happen. Take your obligations head-on, and turn them into opportunities.

Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established. -- Proverbs 4:26

Comments

  1. Michael GallopsDecember 2, 2014 at 8:24 AM

    Great blog! I especially like the part about changing our perspective (and words) on how we view the activities in our daily lives:

    "Instead of "I have to go to the store...to a meeting...to a funeral," what if we said (and thought) "I plan to go to the store...to a meeting...to a funeral.""

    There is power in the words we speak (and think)!

    Keep up the great blog posts - it isn't just women reading them!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shelley EdwardsDecember 31, 2014 at 4:06 PM

      Thanks for the comment, Michael! I appreciate your readership :)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Guardrails

Thank  From the winding ascent of Black Snake Road through the mountains of Arkansas to the many breathtaking overlook points in the Rockies in Colorado, you’ll find miles and miles of guardrails. Like sentries marching alongside the road, they stand as barriers between the safe and level asphalt and a sometimes cavernous drop into the depths below.  We don’t question guardrails on roads like that. N fact, when we see a potentially treacherous road without them, we wonder why they aren’t there.  Yet we have a desire to careen carelessly through life, without boundaries or barriers — without commandments.  This is a hard thing to convey — that the God whose mercies are new every morning and whose love stretches to the skies also has rules. But like little children, we stretch out our little hand and touch what he’s already told us “no—that’s hot,” and then we are angry with Him because we got burned.  It’s not from tyranny that He says “don’t” or puts up guardrai...
Post a Comment
Read more

NEMESIS, TRAPS AND DIGRESSIONS, OH MY!

Let's begin at the beginning. You have challenges. You have issues. You have enemies. All of the above would be true for any of us -- from slacker to slave, from victim to hero -- but there is actually one very small but highly distinguishing characteristic: perspective. Yes, the thing that makes mountains out of molehills--and vice versa--is undoubtedly the key to success or failure, and the common thread through the story of every hero. Something interesting about perspective: it can be found, lost, and regained -- although sometimes elusive, it's always attainable.  Through the next week, we will explore the various things responsible for our lost perspective, and talk about how to get it back. I was about to say that there are three things that generally rob us of our proper perspective, but that would imply that it can be taken from us, by force. The fact is, unfortunately, we sometimes "lose" our perspective as easily as we misplace our keys, cell phone, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ever After

This weekend, we re-watched “Ever After,” a historical fiction drama based on the fairy tale of Cinderella. As a most beloved daughter reduced to a despised servant in her own manor house when her father died, the girl endured heartbreak and hardship for many years...until...! Long story short, when she stood next to the throne with the royal family, the newly crowned princess and future queen, she was in a completely new position in the presence of her angry stepmother. She was no longer under the wicked woman’s control, to order around and abuse. No longer subject to her unkind words or doubled labor. No longer her slave. She has nothing to fear or dread from the woman who had held her captive in the cruelest way her whole young life, because now she wore a crown.  Imagine your life with the same kind of triumph. Freed from the voice that condemns you and tells you you’ll never be good enough. Free from the ever-increasing burden of plodding through your days with the weight of t...
Post a Comment
Read more