Last week I eyed my little seedlings sadly. I knew that I would have to thin them out in order for them to grow. That always makes me sad because it means choosing just one and ending the lives of the others.
I know they are just plants and they have no feelings and this is the way of life, but—for whatever reason—I always find this difficult.
But I knew that if any of them were going to have a chance at survival it had to be done. And so I grabbed by tiny yarn scissors and surveyed my seedlings. I picked the healthiest plant that resided closest to the center of the little jiffy pot and then either cut off or pulled the rest from around it.
If I would leave them there they would have all struggled together to get whatever water and nutrients were available and there’s only enough for one plant.
I will have to do the same thing when it’s time to garden outside. As anyone who gardens knows—we must thin our seedlings if we are going to grow healthy plants.
Perhaps this is something to remember for ourselves, as well. It is hard to have a productive, spiritually healthy life when we are trying to keep too many plates spinning in the air. We just don’t have the resources to do everything well.
I remember there was a point when I was a young mom that I had to acknowledge this. I was super involved at church, I was homeschooling my children, and I was doing all the bookwork for our landscaping company. I ended up doing nothing well and I finally had to admit that something had to go.
That was a really hard moment because I truly loved everything that I was doing and didn’t want to stop any of them. But, finally, I evaluated my priorities and I knew I had to cut something out.
My priorities had to be first my husband and my children and so I chose one or two things at church to stay involved in and I pulled out of the rest. I know now that this was the right thing to do; that that was just a short season (too short!) of my life and not a permanent way of living.
I can’t say I never got to that point again of trying to keep “too many plates spinning”, but I do recognize more quickly now the need to evaluate my priorities when life feels overwhelming.
Of course, there are some stages in life that are simply overwhelming, just by their very nature. In these times we find that our priorities outweigh our resources. And so we pray to the Lord for strength to get through because there are no changes that can be made. Thankfully, these times generally do not last forever.
Another piece of this, too, is that we can sometimes prioritize things that aren’t really priorities. That is a such a temptation for us all. Especially since the world tells us we can have it all.
But that’s simply not true.
We cannot have it all and we cannot do it all and something will truly suffer if we try to. It is important that we thoughtfully make choices about our time, rather than saying yes to every opportunity that comes along.
Paul gives us some counsel about this—
See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-16)
Walking “circumspectly” means to walk in a careful and prudent way; to walk in such a way that wisely considers the ramifications of our choices.
It is so very easy to just fall into a busy way of life. We believe this is right and good. But is it?
It’s probably also important to add here: Determining our priorities must be determined by God’s priorities. What are His priorities for us? This is where we must begin. This is not about what we want but what He wants; and it’s not about what will make us feel happy or “fulfilled” but it’s instead about doing our Father’s will. What does He call us to do with our time?
If we do not have time for prayer and Bible study, we are too busy and we need to carefully examine our priorities. It’s not easy but it can be done, both for God’s glory and for our own personal peace.
May we all choose to walk circumspectly as we pray for wisdom to choose what is the BEST among the many good things we choose from each day.
Oh, this is the story and struggle of my life! I LOVE being involved at church and caring for my family (now grands) and so much more. I’d like to say I’m getting better at “thinning,” and I am to a point, but I am not done learning this. Thanks for the great post.