Today, I Am a Finisher
Time for a quick, very real chat.
I'm currently sitting at my messy dining room table, surrounded by piles of clutter that needs to be tossed or put away, looking up at a kitchen that needs to be cleaned. This is what my house has become in a very chaotic couple of weeks. A deeper look tells me that it's not just the chaos of rehearsal season, homeschooling, or just life in general - however, a deeper look tells me it's a character thing, and one that needs to change starting NOW. Starting yesterday, really.
Sure there is the clutter of this week's school pages, and dishes from breakfast and lunch. There are the shoes that got worn and thrown off in a rush to move on to the next activity of the day. BUT, there are also piles of books I simply haven't gone through, put away, gotten rid of...read. There is a tote overflowing crochet projects that are partially done. There are decorations lying out waiting to be arranged, and clorox wipes that simply never got put away. To name a few.
My house doesn't always look this way, at least on the surface. But if I'm being honest, my mind often does. A hundred things flash through my mind and heart constantly of things I forgot to do again, things I need to do, things I need to finish, and for heaven's sake Crystle, if you'd just get started, you'd be done already. And yet I sit paralyzed by the mess of it all. You guys, this is NOT how we are supposed to live!
My dad used to tell me, "You overachieve and rock something until you reach about 95% completion, and then you freeze. You walk away, push self destruct, or simply start something else. You're your own worst enemy when it comes to efficiency." And it stung. But you know what? He was absolutely right. And I won't go into the massive amounts of soul searching and realization I've done over the last month or so, but I will share this encouragement with you today: If this is you, like it is me, let's stop. Stop leaving things incomplete, stop making excuses as to why we didn't see it through, stop pushing self-destruct and then using a victim's position as to why we can't finish, just STOP! We'll do it together, because we are called to be finishers.
The reason I know I am called to be a finisher, is because God is a finisher. The Bible says and shows examples all over the place of a God who was and is and will be faithful to complete. The author and finisher. And that's all the reason I need. It doesn't make it easy; that knowledge won't do my dishes, vacuum my floors, or write my blog, but it does give me hope. It instills in me a confidence that my Heavenly Father, who is faithful to complete what He starts, will help give me drive, motivation, determination, and ability to complete what I've started, so long as it brings glory to Him. And you know what? I fully believe that starts at home. So today, I'm going to go put on music, and clean my house, joyfully, and not fearfully. I'm going to begin with the end in mind, and get that last 5%, and I know it will be a great victory when I do.
Let's work in all areas of our life, starting today, to be finishers, so we can point to Him, the ultimate Finisher. Maybe it's a huge, monumental task you've been putting off, maybe, like me, you sometimes just feel overwhelmed by the mundane when it's accumulated - regardless, it all matters to you, and it all matters to Him. I'm in your corner, cheering you on. Let's do this.
I'm currently sitting at my messy dining room table, surrounded by piles of clutter that needs to be tossed or put away, looking up at a kitchen that needs to be cleaned. This is what my house has become in a very chaotic couple of weeks. A deeper look tells me that it's not just the chaos of rehearsal season, homeschooling, or just life in general - however, a deeper look tells me it's a character thing, and one that needs to change starting NOW. Starting yesterday, really.
Sure there is the clutter of this week's school pages, and dishes from breakfast and lunch. There are the shoes that got worn and thrown off in a rush to move on to the next activity of the day. BUT, there are also piles of books I simply haven't gone through, put away, gotten rid of...read. There is a tote overflowing crochet projects that are partially done. There are decorations lying out waiting to be arranged, and clorox wipes that simply never got put away. To name a few.
My house doesn't always look this way, at least on the surface. But if I'm being honest, my mind often does. A hundred things flash through my mind and heart constantly of things I forgot to do again, things I need to do, things I need to finish, and for heaven's sake Crystle, if you'd just get started, you'd be done already. And yet I sit paralyzed by the mess of it all. You guys, this is NOT how we are supposed to live!
My dad used to tell me, "You overachieve and rock something until you reach about 95% completion, and then you freeze. You walk away, push self destruct, or simply start something else. You're your own worst enemy when it comes to efficiency." And it stung. But you know what? He was absolutely right. And I won't go into the massive amounts of soul searching and realization I've done over the last month or so, but I will share this encouragement with you today: If this is you, like it is me, let's stop. Stop leaving things incomplete, stop making excuses as to why we didn't see it through, stop pushing self-destruct and then using a victim's position as to why we can't finish, just STOP! We'll do it together, because we are called to be finishers.
The reason I know I am called to be a finisher, is because God is a finisher. The Bible says and shows examples all over the place of a God who was and is and will be faithful to complete. The author and finisher. And that's all the reason I need. It doesn't make it easy; that knowledge won't do my dishes, vacuum my floors, or write my blog, but it does give me hope. It instills in me a confidence that my Heavenly Father, who is faithful to complete what He starts, will help give me drive, motivation, determination, and ability to complete what I've started, so long as it brings glory to Him. And you know what? I fully believe that starts at home. So today, I'm going to go put on music, and clean my house, joyfully, and not fearfully. I'm going to begin with the end in mind, and get that last 5%, and I know it will be a great victory when I do.
Let's work in all areas of our life, starting today, to be finishers, so we can point to Him, the ultimate Finisher. Maybe it's a huge, monumental task you've been putting off, maybe, like me, you sometimes just feel overwhelmed by the mundane when it's accumulated - regardless, it all matters to you, and it all matters to Him. I'm in your corner, cheering you on. Let's do this.
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