Starting a New Year with Shalom

Wow - we are starting the third full week of 2014.  I did not understand when my parents said the years go by faster as you get older... but, today I suddenly realize there is some truth in the statement -  time seems to move faster as we age. 

 

Everyone says I am a master of multitasking - this morning at church a friend commented that the only downtime I must have is when I collapse to sleep.  Personally I don't think I manage my time wisely. There are a lot of things in my life I want to do, but I never seem to have the time to accomplish them. 

 

"Stress does not come from being busy, stress comes from being busy about things we don't want to do, or form not being busy about things we do want to do" Patricia Sprinkle, Women Who Do Too Much.  

 

I have been reading a few books on how to simplify my life. Marcia Ramsland book "Simplify Your Life" .  As I was reading one sentence jumped out at me "We must want change more than we want status quo."  Currently I think I am living the status quo...a fulltime job as the quality / compliance officer for a rural health system, volunteer director of a free health clinic, part-time online faculty for a BSN to RN nursing program, I serve on the board of 2 community organizations, I teach diabetic classes, I am rescues mom to 14 four-legged babies, mom to 5 adult children, and wife to my best friend.  All of this while completing a post-master's certificate in nursing family practice and now studying for boards..  Ugh---- I am tired just writing it all down. 

There has to be more to life???  Running a half-marathon, developing a yoga practice, sewing a quilt, knitting a scarf in less than 6 months. 

 

All the time I was in school I had two goals - to be able to teach from home and to provide healthcare to those who do not have access.  When I look at my life now, I can finally achieve both of these goals - so why do I keep doing things I really don't want to do... why do I continue to create stress in my life?

All of the above being said, this morning I had a moment of clarity.  I have been off work from the hospital system for 7 weeks with The Big Man (he had a knee replacement). Yes, I could have gone back to work, but he has supported me for the last 20 years and I was not about to leave him till the physician says he is cleared.  So, why do I not  just stay home, study for boards, teach my online classes and find balance?

 

So - here it is, this week I resign from the best paying job that I have ever had...it is just a job.  I know that "God's plan for our lives is not that all the circumstances will be peaceful or even pleasant.  God's plan is that we will experience shalom in each of them and know that our future has hope" (Patricia Sprinkle, Women Who Do Too Much).

 How are you finding balance? Do you experience Shalom in your life?
~Connie ~