Saturday, April 24, 2010

Has it been enough?

I'm at the crossroads... two weeks until the end of the semester and all of the graduation events, two weeks until I leave for Romania and the actual implementation of the program begins. Lately, I keep asking myself: has it been enough? Have I worked enough, prepared for the program enough, persevered with phone calls, meetings, and personal letters enough? I'm still $4000 away from where I need to be with the program budget, and there is still a lot of research and other preparation work I want to get finished before I leave. I feel like I have worked diligently, but looking back, I can remember instances when I slacked off on preparation and phone calls, didn't pick up extra hours when I could have, stopped for the night when I could have continued working, bought something I didn't need... So it brings me back to my original question: Has it been enough? Is it good enough?
I feel like I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth. On one hand, I talk about how God has been reminding me to "Cease striving and know that [He] is God; [He] will be exalted"... regardless of my efforts. (Psalm 46:10) And on the other hand, I'm filled with doubt, wondering whether my strivings have been good enough. At the moment, I don't feel like they have been.
Maybe this is where faith enters the picture. I've been learning that faith is a choice. I choose to place my faith in God; I choose to surrender my worries and trust Him as my Provider and Friend. Or, I choose to worry and fret about the past I cannot change.
God calls me to obedience, not to self-sufficiency. (How easily I confuse these concepts!) He is "faithful and just and will forgive" my shortcomings, whether they involve slacking off or relying too much on my own efforts. Can I forgive myself and learn to live with the mindset of God as Lord and Provider? He won't force me to rest in Him; it's a choice I have to make for myself.

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