
I left the meeting feeling overwhelmed. Sad thing is that I was leaving a meeting I led. Sigh.
Afterward, I ran into a colleague in the hall who casually asked, “How’s it going?” To which I answered, “I think I’m going to quit,” an idle threat, of course, but I could sense the emotion pressing threateningly against my eyes. Tears, anyone?
Instead, I made my way outside, where I knew I could walk for a half hour with a couple of coworkers before trying to speed-write a blog post for the second half hour of my break. Which is now. Which is the luxury I am giving myself as I face an afternoon feeling straw after straw land on the back of this camel (me). In other words, I am “in over my head,” which I tried to portray in the image at right.
It’s no big deal, really, just a sensation of being overloaded, of living outside my comfort zone, of learning new tricks and leading others as I do so. A colleague is out for maternity leave for 3+ months, and the bulk of her work — plus two huge projects, one I am tackling today — is riding on me, along with my regular work. Mere straws.
I can look at this and feel overwhelmed, or I can look at this as a challenge, an opportunity to grow, a chance to learn something new and exciting and prove my worth to my company.
And I will. After I have a little pity party. And after I make myself remember Paul’s declaration:
“And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
So I’ll gladly share my pity party with you. Consider it a little boast of my weaknesses (although it feels more like a confession), because I definitely need that power of Christ to dwell in me today.
So no more straw; I am not a camel. No more “in” over my head. Just the power of Christ dwelling in me — making a difference in me and through me.
Later. I’ve got work to do!
Posts for NaBloPoMo 2015:
- Why I love my hairstylist…
- To NaBloPoMo or not to NaBloPoMo? That is the question…
- No AC November…
- That dubious gift of an hour…
- I can’t wait to be discovered…
- Once an English teacher, always an English teacher…
- Of mice and men (or when you give a mouse a cookie)…
- When you replace people with possessions…
- Do what you know is right…
- When your eyes are bigger than your weekend…
- Attempting “The Glad Game”…
- When the Christian life is a bit too much like a political debate…
- Vertigo: When the world around you begins to spin…
- How our Mitsubishi van became blue…
- If she only knew…
- When everything feels like straw…
I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment.