Jetisoning G's ~ Life Lessons from Cranky Children ~ A to Z Blog Challenge

When I began thinking about the A to Z challenge, I thought for a long time about what I wanted to write. I tried to think of ways to find neat things about the English language with each letter. And then I thought, what if that letter didn’t exist? So I am doing an abbreviated version of my Life Lessons series that I normally do on Fridays, but without using the letter of the day. What would life be like without that letter? Let’s find out...

This week has been New Warmer Season’s Break for us. That means my oldest has been home from school and I don’t have a requirement to haul three small children out of the house and around town every day. In some ways this is positive. In others... well, not so much.

Here’s the problem: I’m a homebody. Now as an author this is fabulous. I don’t care if I stay in my pajamas all day and live in my made-up little world from breakfast until dinner. My kids are not that way. We did not leave the house yesterday. By the time we left for the, er, Swell Friday service at church this afternoon, claws had come out, moods had soured, and the volume of whines and complaints had reached an all time record.

Unlike me, my children require an alteration in scenery. When we let twenty-four hours slip by without a trip somewhere, all the other family members climb the walls.

Christian ministry can be like this as well. Some people can serve all day in several different capacities and show up the next day with a smile on their face, ready to jump in one more time. Other people require breaks. They need different routines. It’s part of their make-up – who the Lord created them to be.

Sometimes I find myself held up as the yardstick by which I measure another’s service. This is incorrect on so many levels.

One, it’s not my place to measure.

Two, the Lord wants a personal relationship with you which means that He has a different plan for you than for Billy Bob Joe down the street.

Three, I need to focus on what I have to handle instead of what someone else has on their plate.

And four, I could start to find fault in myself in areas where the Lord has not called me.

What expectations do you find you place on others simply because they work for you?

Check out other A to Z participants using the link below.