By Lois Hewitt

During breakfast this morning, the conversation with my husband eventually ended up with a rundown of each of our daily schedules. I always, and I’m not sure why, ask Mike what he is working on today. His answer is always the same…”I’m not sure. I’m working on it now.”

What do you mean you don’t know? How is that even possible?

I use a blank bullet journal and make my own planner. I found that premade planners do not work for me. I do a monthly calendar with bills and due dates, special events and monthly chores. My daily planner shows my work schedule, my chore list, my weekly menu, my daily special prayer list, water consumption, food journal and health checklist. It’s the same every week.

That may sound a bit regimented but I absolutely need that if I want to be productive. The only days that change are the weekend when I batch cook but the concept is the same.

That’s why the idea of not knowing where you are headed for the day is unfathomable to me.

A lot of my life has been a series of lost days with uncertain purpose with a few good and productive days sprinkled in. Quite a few years ago, I decided to create an ever-evolving way to eat right, clean right and live right. I always say without that constant reminders, I world never get anything done. It is brilliant for me and works very well.

What possibly could be the downsides to my method? Well, there are a few. Spontaneous, I am not. Mike lives in the moment and I live with structure. Sometimes I do wish for some spontaneity but it is not easy for me.

My rigid structure sometimes clashes with what God thinks I should be doing. I know He appreciates the work and productivity my system provides but He likes to shake things up. He does not want us to be so rigid that we cannot randomly jump into a situation that could provide spiritual assistance to another person.

These last couple of weeks have been a test for me. Seemingly random situations kept popping up. This forced me to deviate from my normal schedule. I know I was being sent a message. You cannot be so rigid that you cannot answer the call God sends you.

If I am going to be perfectly honest, and I always am, about my performance this last couple of weeks…i would give myself a hard C-. I did not respond to the unexpected changes very well. I felt stress and insecurity. I doubted my every move and every motive.

But I did learn a lesson. It is okay to have structure. It keeps many of us on the right road and heading in the right direction. But you have to have a little wiggle room for the unexpected happenings God sends your way.

While I am learning to live intently in order to alleviate chaos which renders me unable to function. I also have to learn to embrace those things that are unknown to me, those items not in my planner. We never know when the opportunity will rise up to serve God’s people. Needs are not usually a scheduled line item.

I am learning how to handle my quirks in a productive way, now I need to be a little more like Mike and not be so rigid. Just like the body needs flexibility to remain healthy, so does our spiritual body.

I remember many years ago reading about Jesus telling the disciples to leave their things and follow Him. That is a call for flexibility, isn’t it? It may be a bit extreme in today’s world, but it’s not off base.

Our lives require bills to be paid, chores to be done, meals to be prepared and work to be done. That is how it works. But our lives also require seeing God’s will for the things He wants us to do for our fellow man and, ultimately, for Him.

Balance is the answer, balance is not really in my vocabulary. But it needs to be. Balance between the expected and the unexpected. God has promised to be with us in each season, so there really is nothing to fear ( still working on that).

If you are struggling with this, know you are not alone. The One who created the universe is with you. He loves and cares for you. He was with me this week when I cried often that I could not do it, but He gave me the strength to do it and He gave me the rest to recover.

We just need to focus on Him and pray for His strength.