Two Jobs Done Well or Ten Jobs with 10,000 Mistakes

Colossians 3:23, ” Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,”

Attending a weekly Bible study, teaching a Sunday School class, acting as PTA President this school year, working on not one, not two, but three huge projects at work, chauffeuring your son to basketball practice, your daughter to gymnastics, and trying to fit in Story hour with your preschooler in addition to attending all plays, band performances, and school programs for your children while finishing up an online course to get your degree in your spare time.  Do you ever feel like your life is spinning out of control and you cannot stop the crazy pace, let alone seem to do anything right in any of the activities that you are involved in?  You are the poster child for stressed out, burned out, and maxed out. 

It is not that any one particular project or activity is bad.  In fact, looked at separately, each social function could have the potential to enhance your life and/or that of your family.  However, it is our duty as individuals to make sure that we do not overcommit ourselves, leaving no room for emergencies, accidents, or delays.  Worse yet, when we do not leave any room to breathe, to focus, or to do the job at hand well, we are not only hurting ourselves through harming our health, but we are hurting those that we are trying to serve. 

When you are so rundown from driving all over town to various sports events or extracurricular activities with your children, how much are you truly able to focus on writing that business proposal for work, making sure that careless errors are not occurring?  When you work on more projects that you can legitimately handle on the job, just how much energy will you have left over for the most important people in your lives – your family and friends?  When you scrimp on sleep months at a time, are you not really paying for it with your health in the long run? 

Superwoman is not the person who can supposedly juggle ten activities at the same time; the real Superwoman is the woman who stands up and says, ‘Enough is enough.’  Everyone’s schedule is going to look different because there are no two families out there that are exactly alike.  Some people thrive on activity; some people thrive on more peace.  Everyone, though, needs to learn balance so that the activities they choose to do are done well, with energy left over for the other important areas in their lives. 

Will there be seasons in life that are crazier than usual?  Sure – but recognize that is a season and not your life as a whole.  Adjustments are required even then to keep life in balance, to maintain boundaries, and to be able to always say you are giving your best to whatever job is before you, fully rested and ready to give your all. 

So, with that being said, I am still working on remembering that two jobs done well are much better than ten jobs done with 10,000 mistakes.