The Overwhelming Lists

What do you want to be when you grow up?
Oh gosh, I don't know. I do know that whatever it is, I want to be good at it.
Ok, so what do you want to do?

Well, I want to be a good mother. So that means reading books, keeping routine, being spontaneous, singing songs, doing puzzles and crafts, teaching discipline and responsibility, getting messy, being clean, eating healthy, special bonding, and the list goes on and on.

I also want to be a good steward of the things that I have been given. So that means scrubbing floors, cleaning toilets, wiping mirrors, washing clothes, vacuuming carpets, doing dishes, changing the oil in the car, and the list goes on and on.

I also want to take care of my body as my temple. So that means eating healthy, exercising, stretching, keeping clean, taking care of my skin, taking care of my mind, and the list goes on and on.

I also want to be a good friend/family member. So that means remembering birthdays, sending gifts/cards, making phone calls, mailing letters and pictures, giving hugs, encouraging, helping keep each other accountable while accepting that accountability for me, taking lots of pictures, planning events, visiting often, and the list goes on and on.

I also want to be a good employee. So that means arriving to work on time, having a great attitude, being fair to all coworkers and employees, completing assignments quickly and efficiently, being assertive, being willing to go above and beyond my responsibilities, being a team player, staying organized, and the list goes on and on.

I also want to be an active role in my church. So that means attending church, being genuinely interested in my church family, serving whenever possible, giving my tithes, pray with and for one another, encouraging one another, same accountability here as with my friends and family, getting plugged in to the groups and events and fundraisers and missions, and the list goes on and on.

I also want to be a faithful child of God and servant to the King. So that could mean a long list of do's and don'ts that I could get bogged down in. It could mean a lot of rules of what not to do versus what to do. But what it really means is to seek Him earnestly. If I am seeking Him and praising Him, He will show me what to do versus what not to do. And while He is guiding me in this way, it will be the best possible thing for me. I don't have to wonder if I am walking in the right direction if He is the one who led me there.

So being a good mother looks more like seeking Him.
Being a good steward of my possessions looks more like seeking Him.
Being a good caretaker of my body as my temple looks more like seeking Him.
Being a good friend/family member looks more like seeking Him.
Being a good employee looks more like seeking Him.
Being an active, contributing member of my church looks more like seeking Him.
Being a faithful child of God and servant to the King can only be accomplished by seeking Him.

So I could stress all day about what I have and haven't done, what I did and didn't accomplish, how much I have or don't have, what I did or didn't say, and if I am doing a good job at all of those things, OR I can seek God and know that He will show me when to speak and when to be silent, when to clean and when to cuddle, when to take charge and when to be submissive, when to labor and when to organize, when to give and when to give more, when to go and when to stay, and the list goes on and on.

But I don't have to worry about the list. I just have to listen.