If you ask the hubs what things Karen doesn’t do, he’d probably tell you nothing. Wait, I take that back. He’ll tell you I don’t vacuum. And he’d be right; I don’t vacuum. But I meant career-wise, life’s-purpose-wise, use-all-your-talents-and-gifts-wise.

The other day he made some crazy comment while we were discussing something else. It went something along the lines of:

Me: “Oh that looks fun. I should sign up for that and do THAT.”
Hubs: “Yes, cause you need something else on your plate.” {Insert sarcasm.}
Me: “But I’m taking this other thing away.”
Hubs: “You never really take things away. For a week maybe, but then you replace them with something else. It’s okay. That’s just who you are.”

We were on the couch snuggled up, and he wasn’t being ugly, he was just speaking truth. But his truth must be skewed because clearly he is delusional. Wut?! I know how to let things go. I let things go very well. But he could be right, okay fine, he is right.

I never leave that space open to just be free space. The one thing I don’t do is say no to things I KNOW I can do. If I can do it, consider it done. Even if some things get sacrificed, like sleep. Or sanity.

Lately I have been {ahem, trying to be} better about leaving more free space. Space to be a better mama. Space for me. Space for God to do things that HE wants me to do. Coincidently (or not) my pastor spoke recently about not being so busy with our own things that we don’t have time to do His things that pop up in the most impromptu ways.

So there is the hubs and God. Both in cahoots to make me do less.

I am sensing a theme.

Fast forward to yesterday.

Two things happened yesterday.

1. I ran across a project that someone else is working on. (Names have been omitted to protect the innocent. AND to make it seem less like I am some sort of overachieving know-it-all freak.) I looked at this project and immediately thought, “I could have done this project. Piece of cake. OhEmGee why am I not working on projects like this as my new career?!” I thought a whole lot of other things that basically all said the same thing: “Why do I not add this to my plate? I CAN do this so I SHOULD.”

2. A certain collaborative blog opens up to guest blogger submissions for two weeks every quarter. If you miss your window, you have to wait until the next quarter. This collaborative blog is pretty “famous.” High-level. All the cool kids hang out there and have their names on the roster. It’s been on my list of things to do but I always miss the window. This time I was ready. I had it plugged into my calendar and everything. Oh yeah, CB, you’re going down!

Once I got to the site, it hit me. I didn’t want to be on this site to share love with someone or to encourage someone. I wanted to be on the site to add to my resume. Not to be a light, but to have my name in lights. Not to share Christ, but to say “look at this other new thing I am great at.” Let me be clear in saying every other thing or place I’ve written for has been for the opposite reasons. To share Jesus, to encourage, or to simply bring joy. But this CB was none of those. It was simply to check it off my list of “things that proves Karen is successful.” And that, my friends, is the wrong motivation for using our gifts, talents, and abilities.

So I walked away from both of those things. I walked away from judging the project and even providing unsolicited input, because it’s not my place to judge, and it’s not my project to own.

I have enough on my plate.

And I closed the laptop on the collaborative blog page, because our talents and gifts are not given to us so that WE can receive glory. They’re given to us so that by their use, HE can receive glory.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. ~ Philippians 4:13

Yes, we are given amazing strength through Christ to help us do all things. But just because we CAN doesn’t mean we SHOULD. Be less busy taking on projects that aren’t yours to take, and more discerning about taking things on for the right reason, even if they do line up with your gifts.
I’m still a work in process for both of these but for this girl who never says no to anything? Two out of two ain’t bad. 😉

XOXO,
Karen