Good morning…
December hosts a plethora of pop-up possibilities. On top of our regular commitments, we add gift buying, Christmas cards, and holiday visits. We pile on parties, special foods, and annual traditions. We struggle with people-pleasing, perfectionist tendencies, and performing our priorities with the greatest of ease. But December is not easy, December can be hard. Yet the blessing of stress forces us to remember: we can not do it all. So how do we say “no” to peripheral demands so we can give our wholehearted “yes” to the people and priorities God invites us to treasure?
Taking my sail out of the wild December winds, winds picking up speed and stressing me out, I sit quietly with God, my journal, and a pen. Calmly, creatively the LORD brings to mind a quote we read together this fall in our Thursday morning Bible study. This everyday wisdom provides a model of how to say “no” to good opportunities so we can invest our precious “yes” into the best God desires for us.
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Excerpt from Lysa Terkeurst’s The Best Yes: Making Wise Decisions In the Midst of Endless Demands
I’ve learned the best “no” answers are graciously honest. A simple no I will sometimes use is, “While my heart want to say yes, the reality of my time makes this a no.” Because I am someone who carries a great desire to make others happy, my heart is usually always jumping up and down demanding, “Say yes! Say yes! Say yes!” But my brain has learned it must boss my heart around a bit once it checks my schedule, considers my capacity, and understands what is and is not my responsibility.
Another gracious no I like came from my blog reader Connie, who commented: “A friend shared this with me and there was a time when I literally kept a copy of this by my phone…I’m sorry but I can’t give it the attention it deserves.” This graciously honors the person’s request by acknowledging it deserves attention but allows us to honestly admit we can’t be the one to give the necessary time. (133-134)
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We are created to converse with God first, daily, often, as we consider when to say “no” and how to protect our very best “yes.” Yet too often we take the “no” we sense from God and we turn it into a polite “maybe,” because we do not want to miss out, we do not want to disappoint, we do not want to take the time that it takes prayerfully discern, “God, from Your large picture perspective, what is the best use of my time?”
Today and each day, where God puts a period, will we shed our question mark?
Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, and He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way] (Proverbs 3:5-6, AMP).
…Sue…
