Herding Cats, Jell-O & You

You may not know this about me, but I have figured out that I am a professional gap filler. Some were short-term needs and others lasted for years. One time we were at a church, Dean was on staff and they needed a Pre-school teacher. I got certified (all A’s baby!) and taught those crazy, wonderful, patience-testing 3-year-old kiddos for 4 years. It was something I didn’t know I would be good at and love so much. I started off filling a need and ended up finding a niche and purpose for the time we were there.

We worked hard and had fun but anyone who has kids, taught kids, watched kids or went to a kid’s birthday party knows that a lot of time you feel like your trying to herd cats or nail Jell-O to the wall. Sometimes your plan has to take a hard left and you realize that your resolve doesn’t always match your results.

“Don’t focus on my results - keep being consistent and leave the results to God.” Pastor Michael Todd

It is so easy to get tired of doing things we feel we are not getting traction in or seeing the results we want. It causes doubt, negative self-talk and we can give up way to soon. We can start off with laser focus, but after awhile our focus begins to wander. We can get distracted and even overwhelmed. We can be Peter-ish.

“Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came towards Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and beginning to sink, cried out, Lord, save me!’” Matthew 14:29&30

“I am trusting God’ is easy to say, but not always easy to follow through with. We are good at trusting God when our work life is groovy, our family is happy and secure, and we have a plan for the future. But when work is furloughed or lost, school is a jumbled mess and it’s hard to make any plans, what is our focus?

In our culture, the tendency is to get our value in what we do, what we have or our position/influence over who we are. But what happens when those get shaken or taken away?

“And what do you do?” is the question we are asked right after an introduction and we are always asking kids what they want to be when they grow up. Even the church is filled with people who can’t find their “calling” and are frustrated. The pressure to be something impressive is always right in front of us.

I used to feel that not having a career and being a professional gap filler made me “less than” other people but recently I have come to realize that I have had a lot of different experiences and an interesting life. I am grateful!

I think God is much more flexible in our vocations and locations than we think. I think He is more concerned about who we are, how we love and treat others.

There can be a freedom in knowing that God is not limiting us to one path and if we miss it, that’s it - game over! Our life can take us to many places and experiences like Theodore Roosevelt was a Governor, Vice-President, President, Author, Rancher, Soldier, Explorer and Historian among others.

”Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” Matthew 6:34 (Msg)

In the world we are living in right now, we may need to hold lightly to our plans and what we think needs to happen. No matter what we end up doing or not doing, let’s hold onto knowing that those things don’t define who we are. And who knows, you may love it as much as I loved my 3 year-olds.

God is not changing in a world that is always changing, let’s stand on that and build a life full of adventure, not fear.

Have an amazing day!
You are loved!

All my love ~
Jodi xoxo

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