Day 011: When the Week is Done and So Are You!
For a week and a half I’ve had more on my plate than I thought I could handle. I’ve been a single mom of five boys for almost 14 years now, so I handle a lot normally. If I’m saying the last week and a half was a lot, just know, it was!
Most of what I needed to do involved good things. I was put in charge of an extremely large order where I work. I may not have been much for others, but it dealt with more money, technology, deadlines, and so on than I’ve ever been in charge of. I had report cards and tests to grade and important phone calls and emails that could not wait. Then I was told I’d have my final official observation this week too.
Even my weekend was non-stop running. My son had games. I was asked to be a Confirmation sponsor. It was Divine Mercy Sunday and I went to the National Shrine of Divine Mercy to celebrate, talk to people about why they were there, and just be closer to our Lord. I could have skipped going to the Shrine, but I love people and wanted to hear from them why they were there. I also love the Shrine and go whenever I can. It’s beautiful and peaceful and refueled depleted tanks of peace at times in my life when I was hovering in despair and needed to choose to live or give up. I could have skipped the Shrine of Divine Mercy, but that morning I remembered my commitment to Live Not Ordinary. I figured most people would not go to the Shrine, so I would. By the amazing and beautiful crowds there, I may have been wrong! It’s only a slight exaggeration to say it seemed as if the whole world showed up there and yet, there was none of the hurry and stress of normal large crowd settings. Instead there was joy and peace and contemplativeness in the faces I saw.
I love Divine Mercy so much. I could go on forever about it and am getting off track. Let me go back!
Everything I had to do involved good things, but there was a boatload of responsibility and no down time. For much of the week, I was not sure I’d have the hours in the day to handle it all. I kept wishing there were more hours in a day. Then I’d realize God made the day in His perfection and more hours would just be filled up with more stuff. I stopped wishing for more hours and started wishing for less stuff. Then I wondered which thing God had entrusted to me I’d eliminate. That made me stop wishing for less stuff.
I focused on picking off one thing at a time. I eliminated target by target things that were most important and also most urgent. I did what needed to be done well, well. I did what could be done, decently, decently and didn’t let my perfectionism interfere with the trust people had in me to get the job done. When one project really was not do-able, I made arrangements to do what I could and asked my supervisor if I could go back and revise it later. My honesty resulted in him noticing a glitch in the system that showed I was unable to do what I’d been trying to do. He fixed it, and all was well!
Looking back at the last week, my workouts were weak, my house was not it’s best, my prayer time was spent mostly in the car driving from one event to the next. I literally felt nauseous by the number and degree of importance the things I needed to do. I wasn’t sure it would end, but it did.
Friday came, and I realized I was done with what had been handed to me. I’d finished all the most important things and done them all one at a time and I’d done them all well. There were still a loose ends I’d tie up this weekend.
I locked my classroom door and walked down the hallway. With every step, I felt a weight lift off me. I felt lighter. I was not only done with work and the pressure I’d been under, I was also filed with renewed confidence. The confidence was not just in my ability to do a lot, but in my ability to prioritize and focus. These were skills that did not come naturally to me. I’d had to work on them and develop them. They’d come through study of those who’d done them successfully and my own attempts and resulting failures and successes. I realized I wouldn’t have been able to handle all I’d handled the last week and a half without my prior challenges.
Next week would also be a hugely busy week as I prepare to launch my first Fiercely Beloved Challenge. I find myself wishing I’d put off its launch two more weeks. I keep telling myself the program is not ready. This weekend, I’ll push through all I can adding on what I can and I’ll have to re-evaluate. It will be extremely humbling if I need to contact those who’ve already signed up and ask them to wait two more weeks to launch, but I will be honest with them, and I will give them the best program I, with my Lord’s help, can possibly give.
if I think about all I have to do next week, I’ll be nauseous again, Instead, tonight I’m going to hang out with my 13 year old and enjoy mother-son time together because, nothing I do in this world, will matter as much as my love and influence on my children and their love and influence on me.
When I am done, exhausted, uncertain, only my God and my family really matter. This weekend, he is my priority and I will do all I can to honor him and show him how grateful I am for him and also for his support when things were so challenging this week.
Yes, tomorrow I will again be nauseous by the amount on my plate, but I know I will handle it with love and laughter and confidence because I’ve done it before. I am grateful for even my stressful weeks.
God Bless You and God Bless America!!!
Friday, April 21, 2023 – Thank you Lord for…
- My toughest work is DONE!!!
- Code who is so patient and helpful and wonderful!!!
- Knowing I did the job well!
- Knowing people count on me because they trust me
- My hardest phone call ended up being a good one and seeing me another side of someone. It gave me more compassion for all involved and reminded me again of my need to be humble more than defensive.
Ramen Noodle soup for dinner. Lol - Adding carrots and celery to the Ramen so I felt like a halfway competent mother. 🙂
- Being asked to read Michael Vey to Code.
reading at a decent hour so we weren’t up until midnight again. - Falling asleep on the couch.
Going the wrong way and seeing the beautiful countryside. - Still making it home in time.
- Chatting with M while waiting to pick up the boys.
- Knowing, I don’t know what’s coming or if I can do it all, but knowing I can handle it all.
- Thank you Lord!!!