For nearly three years, I have tried to maintain the discipline of writing posts every Tuesday for my Facebook page, TimmyTuesday™, and I have been mostly successful. There were a few occasions where I was simply unavailable to do so because of unforeseen circumstances. I have told people that when it comes to my TimmyTuesday™ posts, there are times (more often than not, really) when I simply do not know what to say; when there are no great epiphanies or ideas of encouragement. And in those times, I ask God to give me words—to inspire me with something that resonates with at least one person. And it always seems to come. Even on the days when I just don’t feel like continuing in this journey, I receive some kind of inspiration. Today is one of those days.
Today was rough—one of those days that just becomes laughable because the “what else” in “what else can possibly go wrong” keeps showing its face. You can crumble or you can laugh. I found myself somewhere in between. Naturally, I am mentally wiped out. And as I sat here, staring at a white background and a blinking cursor, I had no inspiration. So, I quietly asked God to give me something, and there was seemingly nothing. I told my wife, Amanda, that I had nothing. And she gave me that something.
She told me that the world was not going to come to an end if I didn’t write something today; that I could rest my brain and approach the situation afresh tomorrow and maybe have a new perspective and new inspiration. And there it was. Inspiration.
Although I try hard to be faithful that my TimmyTuesday™ posts actually arrive on Tuesday, the universe is not going to implode in on itself it it doesn’t happen. Would I be disappointed? Sure. There’s something fulfilling about setting a goal and being able to meet it. But the stress that I was feeling because of my lack of inspiration was robbing me of the joy of actually writing anything. I am very grateful for what Amanda said, because I do get to continue in my Tuesday tradition, but had I published something on Wednesday or even Thursday, that would have been okay.
Too often we allow so much unnecessary pressure on ourselves as we feel the need to perform. We nearly kill ourselves as we stress over deadlines and what-ifs and the fear of failure. In doing so, we are robbed of the joy of the moment—of the joys in our situations. Our stress causes us to do things either half-heartedly, half-assedly, incorrectly, or not all. We put undue emphasis on things that, in the grand scheme of things, aren’t of significant importance or urgency. And that’s not proper living. We lose our joy and often rob others near us of theirs as we get frustrated, or angry, or depressed.
There are very few situations in which the world will end if something doesn’t get done on time. Sure, there are matters of importance that command attention and definitely should not be minimized, but we need to keep a balanced sense of perspective and discriminate between the real life-and-death situations and those that masquerade themselves as such. We can’t live our lives under constant pressure, because If we do, only then will our personal world actually implode upon itself.
In my faith, I find these verses to be encouraging and full of wisdom:“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” — Matthew 6:34
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 4:6-7
“From my distress I called upon the LORD; The LORD answered me and set me in a large place. The LORD is for me; I will not fear; What can man do to me? The LORD is for me among those who help me; Therefore I shall look with satisfaction on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in princes.” — Psalm 118:5-9
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