Our Proverbs 31 gal "PLANS AHEAD, is a HARD WORKER, AVERTS CRISES & STRESSFUL CRUNCHES WITH WISE PREPARATION." That's what I'm trying to do for February's installment of this blog series! In banking, we all take the holidays seriously and let things slow down in December, so things are always busy at the start of the year. This is great, because I'm getting a head start on practicing February's traits! Every day there's a stressful crisis/crunch at work, and I've noticed that when they are unexpected, I have to go into "fireman" mode -- the result is that my family & friends get a "me" that is not so pleasant & peaceful. So, it's worth my time to plan ahead, work hard, and wisely plan -- averting those crises & crunches if at all possible, and saving the people around me a little bit of headache too.
But...HOW? Well, this will look different for different people. For me, I need to get started on planning February's Proverbs 31 installment, I need to stay ahead of the game at the office, and I need to continue working hard in my relationships/daily personal life. I also need to "prepare" for all of the above by staying in God's word and focusing on what HE wants me to do and what HE wants me to be -- across the board. What is your "work?" For what potential circumstances are you called to plan & prepare? To what endeavors are you supposed to be "giving your all?" Louse Viner, writing for Christ Church Central in Sheffield England, puts it this way:
"And what is work anyway? For many of us it is the office where we spend much of our time doing a lot of mundane tasks in order to pay the bills and support our families - or pay for the next holiday. For others of us it is hours spent studying with the aim of launching a good career. For mothers like me it can involve standing at the till in Tesco's or at the school gate in the pouring rain or cleaning up vomit - for which no one pays me anything - but it's a job nonetheless! The fact is that most of us for much of life have to perform certain tasks with boring regularity whether paid or unpaid."
I don't know what Tesco's is, but I think I get it. Prepare for the mundane & expected - that's work, & as boring and uninspiring as it sometimes feels, it still requires dedication & preparation. The good news is that when we approach those mundane everyday tasks with planning & strategy/dedication, they can take on a new light -- our success rates increase, we feel super, we are more pleasant to be around, and we have more time/energy to spare!
And as far as hard work paying off goes, Thomas Jefferson famously quipped, "I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have."
Audrey Hepburn gave us the Hollywood perspective when she said "I was asked to act when I couldn't act. I was asked to sing 'Funny Face' when I couldn't sing, and dance with Fred Astaire when I couldn't dance - and do all kinds of things I wasn't prepared for. Then I tried like mad to cope with it."
Sometimes, when things go smoothly, it might seem like luck - but I challenge you to start noticing how the "luck" you experience is tied to the plans you've made. Isn't there a correlation? What is it? And if you feel like you are trying "like mad" to cope with the surprises thrown at you, channel Audrey & give it your best. Nobody expects you to be perfect. But also look outside of that frantic coping attempt and say to yourself "what could I have done to avert that crisis? Could I do that next time, and get a better result?"
The Bible says that we are all priests. This does not mean that we all work at churches and people come to us to confess sins - "priests" means that we are equipped to speak to God directly & thus to serve him as believers through every facet of every day - every task, every conversation, every heartache, every crisis & joy. It also means we are equipped to be leaders, speaking to God on behalf of other people, of the WORLD. How? One way is through prayer, which I believe is one of the most valuable & powerful ways to wisely plan ahead! As women who are also priests/leaders -- at work, in your home, at church, or in your relationships -- we are called to wisely prepare even beyond that. Kenneth Boa, in his study entitled "Long Range Planning," says "...looking ahead into the future, that great unknown, is an essential characteristic of effective leadership. Although, as a leader, you may not possess a crystal ball to foretell what the future will bring, you can and should be planning for what it may bring."
To prepare for February, I'm going to look at a woman in the Bible who worked hard, planned ahead and averted crises/stress with wise preparation. Rebekah went above and beyond the call of duty & drew water for camels in Genesis. I'll also turn to a passage in Matthew, chapter 25, where we read of the ten bridesmaids preparing for the arrival of the bridegroom. This is a great illustration of "big picture" preparation -- we are not only working hard and wisely planning so that the bills are paid on tiem and the boss gets his reports by end of day. We are also preparing, as Christians, for the return of our King! What does that look like? We'll find out.
I'll also touch on 2 Chronicles 10:8, which says “But Rehoboam rejected their advice and consulted the young advisers who served him, with whom he had grown up.”
Rehoboam was Solomon's son, a young man with unharnessed natural abilities to lead. In the height of his prosperity as king, he turned into a moral failure. He serves as a sad illustration that one’s character, already formed, is a powerful factor in all emergencies of choice and decision. For Rehoboam, his lack of biblical wisdom led him to reject the advice of the elders when it mattered most. There was no discipline in the Lord in his life - no preparation for Biblical decision making - and he lost out because of it. His lack of readiness cost him the blessings of God’s kingdom.
The Scriptures exhorts each believer to “train yourself for godliness” (1 Tim. 4:7).
As Darin Smith writes, "Can I ask you today how you are preparing yourself in godliness today? Are you disciplining your body for the glory of God (1 Cor. 9:27)? Have you desire for God to “both to will and to do for His good pleasure” in your life (Phil. 2:13)? Remember, you are not magically or instantaneously sanctified to the place of being like Christ. It is a lifelong struggle. But for the sake and glory of God, may we learn to submit all decisions, thoughts, motives, actions, intentions, and words to the One who is able to divide truth from sinful error."
Would you commit today to running your first-ever marathon next weekend? No, you'd want at least a few months to train. But the truth is that any day we could get blindsided by something we didn't get a chance to "prepare" for. Cancer. Pregnancy. Work deadline. Job loss. And we need to prepare our hearts and minds to recognize God's voice & guidance in the midst of those trials. We won't always be ready for the next play in the game, but we can start getting to know the Coach today so we're ready to follow his lead when crises come along.
Looking forward to February! In short, we'll talk about preparing for everyday practical tasks, planning for Christ's return, and averting crises/stress/failure with hard work & preparation. Can't wait!
xoxo
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