Limitations

I turned 32 today. Not sure what to think about that. But I can confess that one begins to think more intentionally about life the older one gets. Of course, its not like I am old. There are plenty of you reading this who are much older than me!

Recently, I read a post from Bob Hyatt where he noted the following quote.

“There is something deeply spiritual about honoring the limitations of our lives and the boundaries of what God has given us to do as leaders. Narcissistic leaders are always looking beyond their sphere of influence with visions of grandiosity far out of proportion to what is actually being given. Living within our limits means living within the finiteness of who we are as individuals and as a community- the limits of time and space, the limits of our physical, emotional, relational and spiritual capacities, the limits of our stage of life… and the limits of the calling God has given. It means doing this and not that. It means doing this much and not more.”
- Ruth Haley Barton

This is a good word for someone like me who has many “visions of grandiosity” and is convinced that I can change the world someday. I am realizing that, while vision and dreaming is important, I must also be very present to what is in front of me. That is my family, my job(s), my neighbor, my community, my friends and even the personal soul care.

So, while I still have dreams of changing the world, I am more fully aware of how its got to start in the daily and the normal parts of my life.

“How we spend our day is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing.”
- Annie Dilard

And finally, another good word from Robert Benson in the book A Good Life.

“It is tempting sometimes, or at least it seems so to me, to think of my work here on earth in rather large and grandiose ways. It may be that writers are the only ones who suffer from such a thing, but I am not sure that is so.

I like to think of my work in terms of building the kingdom and spreading the gospel. It is not a bad thing for us to step back and try to see how the labor of our hands and hearts and minds fits within the grand scheme of things. In fact, it is the proper thing to do so.

But it is also right that we recognize that a goodly portion of the things we do can seem mundane and ordinary are the very places where we are likely to live out the gospel.

Our days and our lives are more often filled with little chances to show our love to others than they are filled with great and grand opportunities. It is in those little things that we are given to do and to say and to be what we must do the work of building the kingdom.”

What are you doing today?

Who are you being today?

What are you saying today?