BRINGING UP SARA, 1.2 “四平八稳” THE PERFECT BALANCE (PART 2)
Part 2: Lesson from the Four Flat Tyres
I shared about my four punctured tyres at our meeting.
Asha from China blurted out a Chinese proverb: “四平八稳”.
Translation/explanation: “Four equal, flat or balanced {legs of a table etc} , eight steady”.
It meant to me that if the four areas of my life were equally balanced, life would be doubly steady and firm.
I had a brain wave. I have many “to-do” lists (cannot manage without them). I drew four quadrants on my notepad. I try to group items on my list into the quadrant.
I put God into my first quadrant as He is the most important person of all.
I PUT GOD INTO MY FIRST QUADRANT AS HE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON OF ALL
But the Holy Spirit said “No”.
To my surprise, He directed me to write “ST” (i.e. myself) in the first quadrant.
Next, “Family”,
Then “Work” and lastly,
“Others” in the other quadrants.
I suddenly realized - the first person He cared about was Me!
Next, He showed me that my family was more important than work and other people or ministries. This was totally different from what I had been taught in Church, which was to put myself last, behind God, Church work, family and our earthly job, in that order.
“Then where are you?” I asked the Lord. “Where do I put you?”
He showed me.
“It is in the quadrant.
Do you see it?”
It is the Cross! It is in the centre of the quadrant!
I was overjoyed and thrilled at this revelation as He continued:
“You will achieve perfect balance when Jesus – represented by the Cross – is in the centre of all you do!”
YOU WILL ACHIEVE PERFECT BALANCE WHEN JESUS - REPRESENTED BY THE CROSS - IS IN THE CENTRE OF ALL YOU DO!
I realised the wisdom of it all! If I put God in a box, He would only occupy a part of my time, a part of me. And ‘time with God’ would always have to compete with everything else.
But if Christ was in the centre of my life – He would be in all that I do. This would be the way I could love God with all my heart, my soul, my mind and my strength!
No More Tug of War
Time with God is no longer a tug of war with all else and vice versa.
I found myself relieved from the stress of dividing my time and energy between talking to God, Bible study, praying and worshipping, and all other earthly things that I need to take care of.
When I spend time taking care of myself, I am resting in Christ.
When I celebrate with my team members, we are worshipping God together.
When I spend time with my children, Christ is enjoying it together with us, as He is, after all, the head of our home.
For about ten years now, I use a small A5 sized (half A4) to-do list in 4 quadrants. I made sure that none of the 4 quadrants is too full. Excess tasks will just have to wait till the following week or month.
Not A Doormat
He showed me a picture of a doormat and said,
“I did not create you to be a doormat. Do not let others step all over you like before.”
I realised that God simply wants to enjoy my life with me.
He wants me to be happy as it makes Him happy, just like my father would be.
I finally understood God’s heart – love Him by taking good care of myself.
I FINALLY UNDERSTOOD GOD'S HEART - LOVE HIM BY TAKING GOOD CARE OF MYSELF
The first thing I wanted to know was how to cope with all the demands on my life as I was constantly so tired and worn out before the day was even over.
I noticed that my mother-in-law took afternoon naps. I remembered that my mother used to do that too. I started to take power naps of 15 to 30 minutes whenever I was tired. I found that when I was well rested, I had the energy to last through the day.
Coffee Breaks with God
I also learned how to take daily coffee breaks with God, alone with Him in my thoughts and in our tete-a-tete, in the precious little pocket of time.
In the evenings, after the children were fed and bathed, they would enjoy their playtime at home while I enjoy my “me time”. I would go for a brisk walk around the property and pray and talk to God about things I have read or on my mind. I would sing to the Lord as I walked. I do this daily on weekdays for about an hour, until my husband comes home from work and we have dinner together.
Happy Me, Happy Them
With renewed energy, I became more motivated to care for my health, my appearance and my dressing, which I had put off for a long time.
I discovered that when I was a happier and healthier person, it was good for my marriage. As my marriage grew happier and stronger, my children became happier and stronger too.
When God called me to start a new business, I was able to (can you believe that? On top of all that is already on my plate!). And when my business was doing well, I was in a better position to bless and empower others.
Not the Messiah
It took me a while to get out of the old habit of putting others before myself. From time to time, I fell flat on my face again; nearing burnout and I would crawl back to the Lord.
A few times, He shook His head and asked me,
“Am I the Messiah or are you the Messiah?”
AM I THE MESSIAH OR ARE YOU THE MESSIAH
Suitably humbled and broken, I repented time and time again for being stupid enough to think I could save the world.
My life was soon liberated! God redeemed my time – and just in time too. In the years following that time, things got even crazier and more challenging both in the world and at home and with my siblings.
I always say this to my team members and they all smile in agreement as they know all that I have been through: “Without Christ in the centre of my life and my family, I would have been very sick, very mad or very dead!”
I cannot be more grateful to the Lord for pulling me back from the self-destructive and unhealthy Christian life I was living.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:
