The Joy of Letting it Go (and Getting it Right) by Glynis M. Belec

If you do your best, you will get it right every time.
(Photo by Amanda Belec Newton)

     The other day I caught the tail end of a program on CBC radio. Even though there wasn’t much left of the show, I think I caught the best part. From what I could gather, the story being presented was giving Kudos to a young musician who loved his calling and pursued it with great passion. He not only worked as a musician during the day, but his spare time was spent helping youngsters hone their skills and foster a love for music.

My favourite part of the program was at the end when one of his young charges – she sounded like she was about 9 or ten years old – said this:  “If you do your best you will get it right every time.”

I thought her a wise little Miss for sharing those words. I even jotted them down for reflection.

And reflect I did.

It started me wondering if I have an obsession for ‘rightness’. I have to be my own worst critic. (I think that’s why I find marketing such a chore and downright exhausting some days.) I never think I am ready and I don’t like settling for mediocre. Sometimes I think that my story is never good enough. My house is never clean enough. My presentation never good enough. I do it to myself, though. Maybe self-criticism is a good thing. Maybe it helps me hone my skills and my craft.

Sometimes I just don’t know what to do to make what I am working on better, though. I wouldn’t call myself a perfectionist – well maybe a little – but I wonder if maybe, just maybe I need to realize that I might have already arrived at my best.

Then there are those times when I let it go. I think those are the times when I easily smile and find the most joy and like that little Miss on CBC – actually feel like I have ‘done it right’.

As I ponder this, I keep thinking about the scripture in Romans 12:2 where it says, Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Notice this scripture verse does not say that I should be transformed by the removal of my mind. I need to keep my mind on Jesus and be renewed because of Him.  It’s all about renewal because, now that I think of it, when I became a child of God, my motivation is all about being right according to His will rather than what the world tells me is best.  I find when I pray and find joy in my work, I feel more renewed, refreshed and more keen to continue.  There’s the key!

So I suppose the best thing to do, then, is to pour my heart and soul into the task at hand – whether I am writing, serving, speaking, creating, planning. If I do all that to the best of my ability using my God-given gifts and take the time to enjoy the journey, then I am doing it unto the Lord and that is as right as I can ever hope to be.

Okay, little CBC Miss. I will take your advice and try my very best.  And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.  Colossians 3:17. 

Ha! There’s the key – giving thanks for everything that I do and I will be right every time! By George I think I’ve got it! 

                             

                            By George

                                                  I think I’ve got it!

Glynis lives, loves, laughs and does an awful lot of reading, writing, publishing and praying in her home office. Her latest children's book - Hopeful Homer offers hope and encouragement to anyone who might find herself in 'the pit'. 

www.glynisbelec.com 

writer@glynisbelec.com 

Row Your Boat - by Heidi McLaughlin

“I’m going to give you some wisdom that you might find simple and a little strange”, I said to the harried woman sitting across from me. "But please listen as I explain."  Her jaw dropped and her forehead produced a few extra wrinkles as I started to sing a simple nursery rhyme.

Row, row, row your boat

Gently down the stream.

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily

Life is but a dream.

I probably didn’t seem smarter than a third grader, but I quickly went on to explain my version of this uncomplicated, picturesque piece of advice. I felt compelled to help her because I knew what it was like to feel overwhelmed and exhausted. I went on to explain how many of us feel a delusional sense of responsibility for things that don’t belong in our boat. “And further”, I said, “we end up listening to all the things we ‘should’ do because we are comparing ourselves to T.V. commercials, Facebook bragging and unrealistic expectations.”

 

To feel fulfilled and joyful we must learn to row our boat gently down the stream. This means learning to quit paddling and working so hard work and go with the flow of life which is generated through the power of the Holy Spirit.  The bible tells us that: “In Him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3 NLT), and that we “…have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16 NLT).  God has given you and me everything we need to flow merrily down the stream. But, we must decide to dock our boat, stop and take the time to listen to the Holy Spirit who will help us make the next move.

I had to eat my own words the last two years as I found myself exhausted, frustrated and depleted.  When I clearly felt the Holy Spirit telling me it was time to retire and trust Him for my future, there were many heart pounding moments wondering what my new stream would look like. I’m in my new boat now, but in order to get settled I had to unload many oversized toxic boxes and debris that should have been chucked years ago.  These days I feel so free and merry that I can hardly contain my joy.

Am I certain as to what my future looks like? No, but as I told the woman sitting in front of me, “God is smarter than you and me.  We need to take deliberate steps to find a place of solitude where we can listen to the nudging of the Holy Spirit to tell us what unnecessary stuff we need to cast out of our boat. God is on our side. No matter how easy or difficult our situations are, God will gently and lovingly guide our boat down the stream of life on the route that He designed for us to take.”

Heidi McLaughlin lives in the beautiful vineyards of the Okanagan Valley in Kelowna, British Columbia. She is married to Pastor Jack and they have a wonderful, eclectic blended family of 5 children and 9 grandchildren. When Heidi is not working, she loves to curl up with a great book, or golf and laugh with her husband and special friends. You can reach her at: www.heartconnection.ca