Biting off more than you can chew

There is a desire in all of us to do something great. Something BIG. Something AMAZING.

I certainly carry this desire within me. It's so hard, though, to spend time in the baby steps leading up to great responsibility. Most of the little things don't seem like much until you get to the next stage....and that's when you realize that you could not have handled the present issues without the skills attained from your previous challenge.

Sometimes the activities and lessons we learn don't seem to connect with the journey until years down the line. We don't see the BIG picture, but God sees the whole canvas before us.

In my rush to reach the end result, I sometimes bite off more than I can chew....thinking it will get me there faster (where ever 'there' may be). I end up choking on my responsibilities because I take on the 'control' factor, instead of focusing on the Holy Spirit's leading.

I went on a Vestry retreat this weekend. We are facing huge challenges in our denomination, and each problem can be traced back to the point that our higher leadership took their eyes off God, and cared more about what society valued. The Church that I attend has remained in God's Word and that puts us on the 'outside' of the wider community of our denomination.

I have recognized that my words have not been followed by actions....and hopefully that is going to change now. I have joined my Church's Mission Ministry. I think I have been avoiding this area because of irrational fears.

You see, we have a lunch program in our Church that runs daily for the less fortunate of our city. There are a group of women who come in and make sandwiches and soup everyday and hand them out to the inner city people.

I've known about this program since I began attending this parish, but I've always had an excuse not to volunteer. No more.

God revealed to me that the people who come each day to receive food don't need me. I need them. I need to reach out and see Christ in the very people that most of us avoid. There has been this opportunity for me to grow, and I have been resisting this particular path.

Not only am I going to put my time where my words have been, but I am going to reach out to others in our community. I want others to have the same opportunity to give back. I will approach the big businesses and ask for their employees to join us on their lunch break.

I may have bitten off more than I can chew...but God has big teeth. ;)