Do Your Best and Let God Do the Rest

4/27/11

The other night as I was getting my daughter ready for bed, I began to battle with her over her use of soap and water.  As a six year old, she loves to let the water run for long periods of time and use as much soap as she can.  One day she even came to me with a ‘cat that ate the canary’ grin on her face letting me know that she had used seven pumps of hand soap to wash her hands (to which she quickly gained her first strike for the day – ‘three strikes and you’re out’). As someone living on a fixed income, the only thing I can see is waste, waste, waste.  This particular evening, as I watched her get her usual two pumps of soap instead of one, I immediately became irritated and started my tirade with the parental catchphrase, “How many times to do I have to tell you…?”… to which she answered with the three most well-known adolescent words on the planet: “I don’t know.”  I then said, “You know you only need one pump of soap, right?” “Yes.”, she answered.  My next statement sent me into a mental whirlwind.  “If you know what to do, then why don’t you do it?”  Immediately I was convicted, especially in the area of my health.  There are many things (namely exercise and getting enough sleep) that I know I could be doing for better health, but I don’t.  I pray almost every day for my health and for balance in my life, but I have yet to attain what I desire.  And I have to ask myself, “How much of my own personal health problems are within my control?  What can I be doing differently that I’m not?  When have I used too many ‘excuses’ to get out of doing what I know will be beneficial for me in the long run?”  These are hard questions for me to ask myself, knowing that I may not like the answers.  These questions could be applied to any area of our lives, however… finances, relationships, taking time for daily prayer, our jobs, etc.  Yes, there are a lot of things that are beyond our control; but our actions and our attitudes are something we have the power to change every day.  It’s not an easy process; but through prayer and the wisdom that only God can give us, we can do our best.  Then we can let God do the rest.   

1 Peter 1: 13-14

Proverbs 21:5

Ephesians 4:22-24

Deuteronomy 6:3