I took my Christmas lights down yesterday. You don’t have to say it, but go ahead, you can. Okay, I will say it for you. “Well done!” Perhaps you were thinking, “Wow! You got that done fast! Christmas was only 3 months ago! I am impressed!” Most likely, you weren’t going to say or were even thinking any of those responses. I don’t blame you. Taking down Christmas lights on the first day of spring is not an occasion for positive reinforcement.
When I was in the middle of taking down the lights, I had 2 neighbors stop by and give me a hard time. Nothing mean spirited, just a couple of jokes. But then one of them said, after the joke, “I never put mine up this year because I didn’t have the energy for it, so good for you for even doing it. Who cares when you take them down.”
I think my neighbor’s reaction, after the joke, is what we all need right now. Because, after 1 year of COVID, I don’t know what accomplishment qualifies as worthy of recognition or not. There are days when I don’t want to get out of bed and just wish I could blink and we would be at some point in the future and none of this happened. There are other days in which I get right out of bed and my energy is high and I make a list, tackle a new project and actually get it all completed. Then there are days, somewhere in between, when I wake up, think about what I have to do that day and pray for the strength to do the best I can, knowing I will not get to all of it before Vicky and I will give in to a glass of wine and a show on Netflix around 9pm.
I don’t know where you are in the midst of everything. I am assuming you have many days like the ones I described above. Some days you get it all done. Some days you get nothing done. Some days you get some things done. Wherever you are or however you are doing, let me tell you the following.
“Good job! Keep it up! I wish I could do what you are doing. Wait. What’s that? You didn’t get it done yet? That’s okay, you can try again tomorrow. I trust you will accomplish it by the time it needs to be done. And if there isn’t a set deadline for it, like my Christmas lights, well, if you wait long enough and never do it, people will think you are ahead of the game the next time it needs to be done. Like if I would have left my Christmas lights up, people eventually would have said, ‘Wow you got your lights up early this year! Well done!’ Or if you didn’t get anything done today if you decided you needed a day to watch a show, check out Ted Lasso. It’s awesome!”
Or if that is too long to remember and confusing, try these three words.
Give yourself grace.
Pastor Tim