goals
"The most important promises are the ones we make to ourselves." (Mary Anne Radmacher, via Jane Kirkpatrick)
Mary Anne's point is that we bend over backwards for others, rarely taking time to do something just for us, so when we do decide to do something for ourselves we should commit to it.
But I read this quote last night and immediately thought: even more so are the ones we make to God, the ones that God puts in our hearts. I also read "promises" as "goals." There are certainly differences between promises and goals, but I think my brain went there because "goals" is something God and I have been wrestling with for a while.
When I was in Texas last August one of my co-workers asked me about my goals.
Huh? Goals for what?
"To live the life God wants me to," I ended up answering, a bit sheepishly. "I guess I've always just lived by whatever God asks me to do." This is true, and it sounds better than saying "I don't have any."
My co-worker didn't seem disappointed by my response, but the brief conversation stayed with me after I returned home to Indiana/Ohio. I wondered if maybe I should have personal goals, something to strive for beyond this moment, and I started asking others what their goals were.
It didn't dawn on me to ask God if this was what He wanted. And if it was, to invite Him to be part of this goal-setting, for Him to be the one to put goals in my heart, to show me where He wanted me to be, what He wanted me to do, and who He wanted me to journey with.
Which is how my life got so off track. I started focusing on what I wanted and it not only clouded my future goals but it also overshadowed living for God today.
Luckily it didn't take long for me to realize the direction I was headed wasn't a good one, but I'm still working my way through the consequences.
In the meantime I swung back to the extreme of deciding that goals were not at all right for me. Again not asking God what He wanted.
God is super gentle with me most of the time, and the area of goals is no exception. Slowly He has been nudging me, telling me it is okay to envision my future. Subtly He has been showing me that it is a HUGE goal--a life-long goal--to be obedient to Him daily. And He has placed smaller goals in my life and heart without calling them goals so that I won't be afraid to embrace them. Like this whole reading the Bible for Lent thing.
I struggled through the book of Joshua yesterday, wondering if it was really all that important for me to read about which tribe got which piece of land, when I was reminded that God had put this idea on my heart. And if it was God's idea, it must be what is best for me. I thought to myself: God and I made this commitment and we will reach our goal!
Goal? Huh? This is a goal? I have a goal!! I had honestly never thought about it as such.
I don't think goals are bad in and of themselves. I think we should EMBRACE GOALS. But none of us need to compare our goals (or lack of goals) to what others are doing or what they want us to do. Remember the quote we started with: it's the goals we set for ourselves that are most important. And for me, God needs to be central to that goal setting (or non-goal setting).
Just read about Samson and Delilah in the book of Judges. Now listening to Samson by Regina Spektor.
Mary Anne's point is that we bend over backwards for others, rarely taking time to do something just for us, so when we do decide to do something for ourselves we should commit to it.
But I read this quote last night and immediately thought: even more so are the ones we make to God, the ones that God puts in our hearts. I also read "promises" as "goals." There are certainly differences between promises and goals, but I think my brain went there because "goals" is something God and I have been wrestling with for a while.
When I was in Texas last August one of my co-workers asked me about my goals.
Huh? Goals for what?
"To live the life God wants me to," I ended up answering, a bit sheepishly. "I guess I've always just lived by whatever God asks me to do." This is true, and it sounds better than saying "I don't have any."
My co-worker didn't seem disappointed by my response, but the brief conversation stayed with me after I returned home to Indiana/Ohio. I wondered if maybe I should have personal goals, something to strive for beyond this moment, and I started asking others what their goals were.
It didn't dawn on me to ask God if this was what He wanted. And if it was, to invite Him to be part of this goal-setting, for Him to be the one to put goals in my heart, to show me where He wanted me to be, what He wanted me to do, and who He wanted me to journey with.
Which is how my life got so off track. I started focusing on what I wanted and it not only clouded my future goals but it also overshadowed living for God today.
Luckily it didn't take long for me to realize the direction I was headed wasn't a good one, but I'm still working my way through the consequences.
In the meantime I swung back to the extreme of deciding that goals were not at all right for me. Again not asking God what He wanted.
God is super gentle with me most of the time, and the area of goals is no exception. Slowly He has been nudging me, telling me it is okay to envision my future. Subtly He has been showing me that it is a HUGE goal--a life-long goal--to be obedient to Him daily. And He has placed smaller goals in my life and heart without calling them goals so that I won't be afraid to embrace them. Like this whole reading the Bible for Lent thing.
I struggled through the book of Joshua yesterday, wondering if it was really all that important for me to read about which tribe got which piece of land, when I was reminded that God had put this idea on my heart. And if it was God's idea, it must be what is best for me. I thought to myself: God and I made this commitment and we will reach our goal!
Goal? Huh? This is a goal? I have a goal!! I had honestly never thought about it as such.
I don't think goals are bad in and of themselves. I think we should EMBRACE GOALS. But none of us need to compare our goals (or lack of goals) to what others are doing or what they want us to do. Remember the quote we started with: it's the goals we set for ourselves that are most important. And for me, God needs to be central to that goal setting (or non-goal setting).
Just read about Samson and Delilah in the book of Judges. Now listening to Samson by Regina Spektor.
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