State of Chaos

Chaos in my busyness is a state I feel like I have been in for about 10 weeks now… My life feels like this constant state of GO, GO, GO… I am doing my best to plan and execute fun/exciting/interesting lessons for school, coaching and discipling girls on my cheer squad, investing in our church family, investing in my marriage, while also spending time keeping up with friends and family. All of these things are wonderful and I could not be more grateful that I have them in my life, but sometimes it can get to be ALOT… am I right? Before you know it you get caught up in this craziness of life and before you know it days/weeks/months start flying by.


And I know I am not the only one out there who feels this way. There are many of you going through similar chaos yourselves. What I have come to notice though, is that because there are only 24 hours a day… things start to slide. Sleep, Exercising, Time with God…


Recently, I got to listen to an incredible podcast by Ben Stuart from Breakaway Ministries as he talks about how to maneuver through the chaos. The Lord sweetly convicted me (as He always does) through Ben's talk as he went through ways to help us walk through this time of our lives. He talks a lot about how to manage your time - how to identify your primary responsibilities and execute those well… and if needed, be humble enough to let other help you. For college students (who is the primary audience) that is AMAZING advice - don't over involve yourself so that you fail to execute your primary responsibilities well. However, all of the things I mentioned above ARE primary responsibilities… community, family, work, + marriage. So, I still was in the confusion of how to do everything…


Then came his other point: DO NOT CUT YOUR SUPPLY LINES
Ah hah. Well, there it was plain and clear as day. My problem wasn't that I am over involved, it was that I was cutting out the things that sustained me the most. How did I expect to do my other responsibilities well if I was tossing aside the things that most gave me life/energy to complete them: Spending time with the Lord and Taking care of my body.


Take care of your soul. I feel like I return to this constant state of pride similar to Nebuchadnezzar in the book of Daniel. God continues to show me that I need him, that I cannot do this by myself, but yet when life gets busy, I continue to depend on my own strength rather than the strength of the Lord to minister to students, teach, and love my husband/family well. I've got to be crazy, right? or I guess just human.


I continue to want to be used by God in big ways, but yet don't take time to sit still and listen to His voice, pray, or study His Word. Just recently a quote by Todd Wagner from Watermark Community Church has stuck with me. He said, "If you are not a man or woman of prayer, you will not be greatly used by God". Wow. Bam. There it was. So much truth in one statement -how can I expect God to use me in big ways if I do not take the time to hear from Him, to be aligned with His magnificent plans for my life.  How can I expect to be given guidance and wisdom to disciple/discipline/guide the young girls that I teach if I do not sit and study God's Word?


It just doesn't work - I simply need to realize that He alone is my foundation by whom I can do all things. Every thing I do of my own will fail, but His goodness and faithfulness will never fail. When I walk with God, I gain perspective of my life and of my chaotic busyness that I wouldn't have on my own. A song that has resonated with me as I navigate this season of life is "Let it be Jesus" by Christy Nockels and it says:

Let it be Jesus

from the rising of the sun

Let it be Jesus

when all is said and done

I'll never need another

Jesus there's no other

For me to live is Christ

For me to live is Christ

God I breathe your name above everything

Let it be

Let it be, Jesus. 

Take care of your body. Sometimes when we get into the midst of chaos we tend to rid ourselves of things that are essential for us to function well physically. For instance, sleep. I know several people who can function on very few hours of sleep… but lets get real. That person is not me. Sleepy Caitlyn is just not effective. At all. I can't expect to be able to give 100% to my responsibilities when I haven't allowed my body to rest and reset for that day.


Of course when you rid yourself of sleep, the next two items to jump off the wagon are exercise and eating healthy. Because if you don't have time for sleep… then you for sure won't have time to go work out and make healthy meals for yourself. Right? So then we find ourselves depriving our body of energy and filling it with food that is unhealthy…. so that we can be what… more productive? Yeah, right. It doesn't' seem to make any sense at all, so why is it that we continue to do this to our bodies? We must remember that even in our craziness that our bodies are temples. "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?" (1 Corinthians 6:19) To glorify God, we must be conscious to take care of the temple that he has given us.


So I say all of this to those of you who are like me. Who sometimes can feel overwhelmed by the chaos in your life. Who want so desperately to be obedient to the Lord, to be used greatly by Him in all that you do. Do not cut out the things that give you life. Spend time with the Lord, draw near to Him to hear what He has for you and how He will use you. Take care of the beautiful temple he has given you so that through it He may be glorified. Believer, you are here to make much of Christ, to walk in the good works he has set before you (Ephesians 2:10). He wants to use you in everything you are doing - in the midst of your craziness. Let us not hinder this by thinking we can complete it all in our own strength. Let's cling to the Lord who is our foundation, our light, by whom we can do all things. (Philippians 4:13)


Link to the Breakaway Podcast on Brining Order to the Chaos can be found here. Go check it out!