On Clarity & Prioritising
It’s been a while!
Hello readers, it’s been a while since I lasted posted here. And I have absolutely no excuses to offer, except that I’ve been taking some time off during the summer and following my own advice about pacing myself well following a busy season releasing my book on this subject back in the spring.
What’s more, I’ve also been quiet because I simply haven’t had much to say. This summer has been a bit of an in-between space for me, and so I’ve mostly been in the posture of waiting and listening and evaluating some things…
That’s not to say that the summer hasn’t been full; it has. In fact, I’ve found it has really raced by in a blur of fun days out, family catch ups, beach expeditions, BBQs, camping trips, weddings, weekends spent visiting friends, and just adjusting to being to do all of the things that we couldn’t for so long!
But now as Autumn approaches I feel like clarity is slowly forming, and so I wanted to share a few thoughts I’ve had about this subject.
The need for prioritising
Life is a lot right now isn’t it? There’s just so much hard stuff going on in the world! And I don’t know about you, but I can easily become overwhelmed, thinking I have to take on everyone’s burdens and fight every worthy cause!
But the truth is I don’t - and neither do you. We’re not super-humans, and we simply don’t have the capacity. That’s why I’ve become such a fan of prioritising.
I think we all want to make the most of our time on earth, taking advantage of each opportunity that comes our way and using our passions and gifts with wisdom and diligence, to make our lives really count.
But this doesn’t mean always saying yes or trying to do everything; instead we need to really discern what is ‘ours’ to do in this season - and what is for someone else.
Over the past years I’ve learned the hard way that whenever new opportunities come up that I want to invest my time into, something first has to go. I can’t just keep adding ‘more’ into an already busy life. It’s the surest route to burn out…
As the timeless wisdom for living found in Ephesians 5:16-7 phrases it,
’Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.’
Isn’t that such a good way to avoid overload? Know what the Lord wants YOU to do.
I mean, there’s so many good things we could each invest our time into, so we really need to spend time clarifying this and knowing our priorities.
How does this work in practice?
But whilst it’s one thing to talk about this, it’s a whole other thing to put into practice.
So here are 6 simple practices that I often use to help me hear God’s voice and find clarity…
1. Get informed
Start by looking at your diary/schedule so that you can make informed and realistic decisions about how much capacity you really have…
2. Pray and ask God for wisdom
Bringing God into a situation is always a good place to begin, and His word says he’ll give wisdom to those who ask.
”If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” (James 1:5)
3. Journal & consider
Ask yourself some honest questions about what is currently bearing fruit or bringing you life, and what feels heavy or dead (feelings don’t always give you the full picture - but they certain provide some clues!)
4. Talk with others
Seek the counsel of your spouse (who will almost always tell you the truth about your capacity!) as well as any voices of wisdom in your life such as mentors, leaders or wise friends.
5. Push some doors
Sometimes even after taking all these steps we can still feel unsure, and if this is the case why not push some doors and see which ones open and which slam shut in your face?
6. Make some brave decisions
The truth is that sometimes we just need to step forwards into new things, even if that means being willing to fail or make a mistake. And in the end, even bad decisions made in good faith can be redeemed.
This process of discerning what my main priorities should be in any given season has become such a life-giving practice for me. I’m fact I’m trying to return to this process of checking in on how I’m investing my time about once every quarter now, throughout the year.
Some changes ahead
So here’s where I’m currently landing…
I have decided to stop a few things I’ve been doing for a very long time now such as leading a missional community at my church.
I’ll also be winding down my Slow Simple Soulful podcast project later this Autumn too - at least for a season. Because although I’ve really enjoyed learning this new skill, it’s not my first passion as a communicator, and I don’t want to spread myself too thin.
But here’s the trade-off. Laying down these projects means that I’ll also be able to make more space for some new projects such as:
Developing SPACE miscarriage & infertility network that I’m helping to co-found to support women in my area
Helping to co-host an online platform called Crowd.Church which is a digital offering for those exploring ideas around faith/doubt and church.
Starting to work on a proposal for another book.
So how about you?
Have you taken any time to consider what you might want to pick up in this next season?
And what you might also need to leave behind too?
What’s yours to carry in this season, and what is for someone else?
If not, it’s well worth investing some time in…
Holding space for questions
Finally, I wanted to add that I don’t want you to read this and think I always have instant clarity on everything. I don’t!
So I hope that this blog doesn’t leave you feeling pressured to rush to a conclusion or decision on something, before you’re really ready. That’s certainly not my intention!
I only want to encourage you to be more mindful about what you are prioritising, how you are investing your time, and what your capacity really is…
Being really honest, there’s certainly some other big decisions ahead of me right now that are still very much ‘in process’ and not yet ready to be made - such as the next steps we want to take on our infertility journey for one.
And with these things, I’m learning to sit in the tension of being suspended in an in-between and not yet really knowing until it’s time to know.
So if you feel like you’re suspended in an in-between space, still waiting for clarity on something even after you’ve been through the steps above, then wait. And know that you’re in good company!
Sometimes understanding what God wants you to do can happen quickly and easily, but sometimes this sense of unfolding knowing can be much more slow. And that’s okay too.
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