During this past spring and summer, my children had to be at the pool by 5:45am, 6 days a week. This meant I was waiting in the parking lot while they practiced. It was so dark I had to use my cell phone’s light to light up my quiet time. One of my floral Bibles eventually found its permanent home on the car dashboard as it became my daily, morning companion.
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Fast forward to now. Between my house and I-10 are several lights. In particular, two red lights stand out that last about 3 minutes each. When you are in a hurry, three minutes lasts like eternity. While waiting for the 3-minute light, I discovered reading material to pass the time: That same floral Bible. Quick verses at the red light helps me not to stare at the clock. Voila, problem solved. But some of my children, eyeing my eyes on the Bible, get concerned that Mom is reading the Bible instead of reading the road. To mitigate their concerns, I only read at red lights……when they’re not there.
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Last week in the morning, I am driving in Katy. I am tabulating all the things that needed my attention. There’s a common phrase: You have a lot on your plate. But I prefer this instead: You have a lot of plates you’re juggling. Some of them can look like these:
Plate 1: life
Plate 2: family
Plate 3: kids
Plate 4: health
Plate 5: work
Plate 6: finances
Plate 7: problems you don’t expect
Plate 8: problems you don’t understand
Plate 9: problems initiated by other
Plate 10: pandemic
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Part of juggling these plates is discerning what we can fix and can’t fix. Because the goal behind achieving any balance is the idea we can fix stuff. It’s when we realize we can’t fix what needs to be fixed that the wobbling of plates begin to occur. As I’m driving that morning, I could feel the wobbling start. The more I’m thinking about it, the more I’m holding onto the plates, the more plate-shaking I feel. Until, the plates finally fall off and fall crashing. Sliding into the red light of Charlton House and Franz Road, I felt overwhelmed.
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Instinctively, I reached for my floral Bible. Knowing this wasn’t a 3-minute light, I had to act fast. I opened up and there was Jeremiah 32:16-17:
“I prayed to the Lord. O sovereign Lord, you made the heavens and earth by your strong hands and powerful arms. Nothing is too hard for you.”
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•When we need to hear from God, we can reach for His word, knowing His word can steady the plates we are holding.
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•When we need to hand our concerns over to God, we can rest in His hands, knowing that He is sovereign and in control when our plates seem out of our control.
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•When we need hope in a greater God, we can return to His arms, knowing the power that created the heavens holds our plates securely.
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•When we need help from God, we can run to His truth, knowing that nothing is too hard for God, not even shattered plates.
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We weren’t created to carry stacks of plates. We were called to connect to God and carry His truth to sustain all that we need. The enemy wants us to believe there’s no other choice when the plates pile up. Days will pass when we may feel like plate stackers. But Jesus’ death on the cross releases us from stacking plates for the rest of our life.
Hand over your plates to God instead of holding on to them.
Heavy plates lead to heavy hearts.
Burdened plates lead to a burdened spirit.
Anxious plates lead to anxious thoughts.
Leave them with Him. There are better places for plates. Like the kitchen.
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©️BreatheTruth