Second, forget not the difference between a good sacrifice and a foolish sacrifice.
"An acceptable sacrifice is when we give up something good for something of far greater worth.
Giving up a little sleep to help a child who is having a nightmare is a good sacrifice. We all know this. Staying up all night, jeopardizing our own health, to make the perfect accessory for a daughter’s Sunday outfit may not be such a good sacrifice.
Every person and situation is different, and a good sacrifice in one instance might be a foolish sacrifice in another.
How can we tell the difference for our own situation? We can ask ourselves, “Am I committing my time and energies to the things that matter most?” There are so many good things to do, but we can’t do all of them.
Sometimes, that may even mean nurturing small but beautiful forget-me-not flowers instead of a large garden of exotic blooms."
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I struggle with this - sometimes a lot. I tend to be a people pleaser. So much so, that I often put others wants/feeling/needs above the people that I love most in my life - I guess because I feel like they know I love them and so they won't be hurt or offended if their needs have to wait. It's completely backwards - I'm aware. When I read this talk the first time I had very different thoughts about this section than I do right now. It's amazing how the same words can have such different affects on me at different times.
The first time I read this I only thought of all the things I spend my time doing that are worthless, or good - but not great uses of time. Things like watching TV and surfing the Web came to my mind right away, but then after more thought even things like planning parties - something I love to do a lot - came to mind. It's something good - and something I can safely say that I'm pretty great at - but was it taking me away from "the things that matter most"?
As I re-read this talk this last time I didn't think of all the things I needed to stop doing, but rather, the things I need to start doing. I need to decide what matters most in my life - my husband and not-so-little man, our families, and church - and I need to focus in on them. I will have to tell people no when they ask me to plan events - at work or other wise, when co-workers want a girl's night. I will need to put down the remote and pick up the scriptures.
So for the next month or so my main focus will be family and church. Other things are important and good and worth while - I know this, but for right now I'm going back to basics. Stripping life down the foundation, my foundation, and then building it back up layer by layer. I'm striving for a more simplistic life... aren't we all?
---------
I struggle with this - sometimes a lot. I tend to be a people pleaser. So much so, that I often put others wants/feeling/needs above the people that I love most in my life - I guess because I feel like they know I love them and so they won't be hurt or offended if their needs have to wait. It's completely backwards - I'm aware. When I read this talk the first time I had very different thoughts about this section than I do right now. It's amazing how the same words can have such different affects on me at different times.
The first time I read this I only thought of all the things I spend my time doing that are worthless, or good - but not great uses of time. Things like watching TV and surfing the Web came to my mind right away, but then after more thought even things like planning parties - something I love to do a lot - came to mind. It's something good - and something I can safely say that I'm pretty great at - but was it taking me away from "the things that matter most"?
As I re-read this talk this last time I didn't think of all the things I needed to stop doing, but rather, the things I need to start doing. I need to decide what matters most in my life - my husband and not-so-little man, our families, and church - and I need to focus in on them. I will have to tell people no when they ask me to plan events - at work or other wise, when co-workers want a girl's night. I will need to put down the remote and pick up the scriptures.
So for the next month or so my main focus will be family and church. Other things are important and good and worth while - I know this, but for right now I'm going back to basics. Stripping life down the foundation, my foundation, and then building it back up layer by layer. I'm striving for a more simplistic life... aren't we all?
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