I had big plans. With our youngest child out of the nest, I began sorting through the many ideas I had for the next phase of life. What would all this newfound free time bring? The possibilities seemed endless.

Only, I never considered the word cancer to be on that list of possibilities.

Suddenly my anticipation for the weeks and months ahead took a drastic turn. Hopes for the next season didn’t hold the same promise as all the things written in my planner…

***

When life takes a drastic turn off course, we have a choice. We can give in to discouragement over things not working out the way we wanted, or we can ask God to show us the blessings where we are. Click the video below to listen to this prayer for when things don’t go as planned.

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” - Proverbs 16:9 NIV

May we all remember to rely on God to order our steps.

Then David continued, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work related to the Temple of the Lord is finished correctly. 1 Chronicles 28:20 NLT

My writing space (aka. office) doubles as a guest bedroom.

Or maybe I should say, our guest bedroom doubles as my office.

So as I sit at my makeshift desk this Saturday morning, enjoying watching the raindrops bounce off piles of leaves in the yard, something out of the corner of my eye begs for my attention.

I’m trying not to look, but I give in to the pressure. It’s the overstocked closet I’ve been meaning to clean out for months.

My mind is overwhelmed with thoughts.

I immediately turn from writing this week’s post and scan my monthly planner. Maybe I can squeeze it in between work and dinner one day this week? Or better yet, let me work on revamping my entire schedule. Something has to give, so I can fit everything in. Planning helps me feel more in control, so if I work on my schedule, surely I’ll feel better, right?

Wrong.

Planning, organizing, analyzing, prioritizing. I’m a planner by nature. I love the idea of becoming more organized, and Lord knows I need help in that area! But even though organizing the schedule can be fun for a detail-oriented girl like me, all that planning doesn’t leave me feeling any more at peace.

How do I stop living on overload?

I know deep down the best thing to do to stop living on overload is just clean the closet.

David gave Solomon sound advice in his instruction for building the temple. After encouraging Solomon to be strong and courageous, he added these three words.

Do the work.

We can learn an important lesson from this simple statement. Sometimes we try to find solutions for our busyness, but it just adds more to the to-do list than what’s already there. When instead, we should stop trying to give our schedule an overhaul and just tackle the tasks - one at a time.

I don’t know about you, but I can make things so complicated. That’s why I love it when God keeps it simple, as He does here in this message. After his instructions, David goes on to share the best news of all. “He (God) will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work...is finished correctly.”

When I do my small part, God will make sure the work is finished correctly.

How do you stop overloading yourself?

Maybe it's the daily tasks of life that are overwhelming you. Or maybe it's bigger. More challenging. And you've been dreading it, or maybe even putting it off because you simply don't know where or how to start.

I hear you.

Let's grab hold of God's Word right now. The next time a seemingly overwhelming job taunts you, remember this verse. Let it guide you as you are tempted to distract yourself by rearranging your schedule or creating a new to-do list.

Instead, spend an hour tackling that task. Just doing the work will free us from the craziness that overloads us.

Now if you’ll excuse me for an hour or so, I need to show this closet who's boss.

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Feeling overwhelmed lately by tasks and to-do lists? Need help knowing where to start? My friend Liz at My Messy Desk hosted a series called Master Your Mess & Discover God's Best. Click the title link to check it out!