Am I the only one that feels like the alarm clock is the equivalent to the firing of the gun at the beginning of a race? Seriously. You hear the noise and immediately spring into action! It’s mostly the same circular track day after day. You know it so well that you can run it with your eyes closed. Start the coffee. Get the laundry going. Take the dog out. Get the lunch ready etc. etc. Some days you have to throw in the unexpected circumstance. The fridge quits working, gotta get the oil changed in the car and of course, the grocery store! This is all while you’re working full-time, getting kids to ball practice and preparing that casserole for your sick neighbor’s family. I’m tired just talking about it. This is real life stuff. Life is very demanding and it happens every day. 

We can’t run away from our responsibilities. This is not even an option. Things have to be done. Of course I think of the famous sisters, Mary and Martha in the Bible. Martha was running around making things happen and Mary chose to sit with Jesus. It’s real easy for us to make an accusation against Martha, but we do the exact same thing! Martha wasn’t necessarily doing anything “wrong”. She was trying to serve The Lord. Jesus wanted her to understand that before she could be in a place to serve, she needed to be fed herself. To be honest, Martha was probably running on empty like a lot of us. It’s not a matter of “doing”. It’s a matter of getting our priorities in order. “But the Lord said to her, ‘My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.’” (‭‭Luke‬ ‭10‬:‭41‬-‭42‬ ‭NLT‬‬) Jesus spoke to Martha with an endearing tone and phrase. He mentioned the fact that there were so many details she was focused on. Don’t we get so frazzled when we’re overloaded with the details? Notice that Jesus did not reprimand Martha. He just wanted to show her a different way. Mary had found The Way and she was absorbing it. 

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭33‬-‭34‬ ‭NIV‬‬) Oh yes! This is the secret to getting it all done with joy and peace. Put God in His proper place. That obviously would be first place. Then, He makes the rest fall into place. It’s literally that simple but we tend to over complicate things. We have our “to do” list and if there’s anything left in the tank, then we’ll seek God. This is totally backwards and counterintuitive to what He tells us to do. And we wonder why we’re going in circles?  

Next, He tells us to focus only on today. Tomorrow will be there when we get there. We, as humans, like to check things off the list. So we buckle down and make it happen! Do we ever stop to think about the fact that God broke our time up into intervals? He knew we could only handle so much at any given moment. Living outside of His protective boundaries only hurts us and takes a toll on our lives. “Be still, and know that I am God!” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭46‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬) This “stillness” is not just a matter of not moving. Its literal translation is to “cease striving” or “relax”. God is literally telling us to quit moving on empty. He is God! We are to know this intimately and trust Him enough to keep His promises to us. He never asked us to do a million things on our own. If we take the time to seek Him, He will show us a better way. “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.” (‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭55‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬) We can consult with Him first or we can dive straight into the day with all of our efforts and be exhausted midway through. 

So, when that clock goes off in the morning, take a deep breath and say good morning to The Lord. He’s already there waiting on you with some good news. He wants to help you arrange your day in such a way that it brings joy to you and those around you. He’s going to get you READY for the day’s challenges. He’s going to SET the tone of peace over your life. Then and only then, can you GO into a broken down world with confidence and a specific direction. Ready, set, go!

Today’s writer is Brandi Crowe. A hairdresser for over 25 years, she is currently the owner of Brandi Crowe salon in Buford, GA. She loves hiking, a good cup of coffee, and spending time with family and friends. Brandi lives in a custom farmhouse with her husband Robby and cat Harold.