Day 18: Learn to be Flexible
/Dear Little Princess,
You might have noticed that yesterday’s letter was a day late (I later updated the posting time). When I joined the 31 Days Challenge, the goal was the post every day for the month of October. I fully intend to get all 31 posts up, but as yesterday proved, they might not go live on the exact day I had hoped.
Does this mean that I failed the challenge? Perhaps some would say so, but I don’t feel that I’ve failed at all. Planning in life is good and necessary, but equally needed is having an attitude of flexibility. Being flexible is not something that comes naturally to me, so it’s something that I really have to work at.
If you can learn to be flexible, to tailor your schedule around life’s experiences and mishaps, to roll with the punches, you’ll be able to enjoy life much more fully. Many of life’s experiences come at inopportune times. If we’re so glued to our schedules that we either don’t take full advantage of those experiences or miss them all together, we’ll have become slaves to our routines instead of masters of them. Schedules, routines, and goals are there to serve as guides. They should serve us, not the other way around.
I know all of this in my head, but living a flexible life is a huge struggle for me. I don’t want to set aside my homeschool planner for sick days and spur-of-the-moment field trips. This past week alone, we ended up moving out of our house a week sooner than planned. Two different viruses hit our family. The house movers forgot to come pour the foundation for our new house on time. Life happens, and we can either take the bumps in stride, or we can rigidly resist and get beaten up in the process.
Grampa engineers buildings for a living. Sky scrapers need some flexibility worked into their designs or else they would snap in the wind. If they have some sway built in, however, they can withstand tremendous winds and earthquakes. We need to be like a well-engineered building so that we don’t topple when one of life’s storms hit.
The best way to weather a storm is to have a firm foundation in Christ Jesus, followed by a willingness to change our plans when needed. Once again, the Holy Spirit is there to help us keep a positive attitude even when life seems to be spiraling out of our control. He’s there to remind us that God is in complete control and that we can rest content in His care despite Earthly storms.
Yesterday, life didn’t permit me to get my post sent out on time, and that’s okay. Serving my family is much more important than making sure that my blog gets attention at regular intervals. Keep your eyes on Christ, and the important things will come to light while the lesser things grow dim.
All my love,
Mommy
