What’s In Your Purse? - How Many Lists Do You Have In There?

What’s in Your Purse? - How Many Lists Do You Have in There?

I’M SURE WE ALL agree that health scares are not fun. However, they seem to bring about one positive effect. Some of my friends and family members have been diagnosed with the big C, and with the exception of one precious soul, they all beat it. Many have said their cancer fight helped them reconsider their priorities.

I got my wake-up call in 2002 when my doctor told me he thought I had multiple sclerosis. For seven days, awaiting the final diagnosis, I had the opportunity to assess my life as it was and what it might be like for the next many years living with that dreaded disease. That time of reflection gave me the opportunity to realize that my hectic schedule was burdening my handbag.

I had a weakness for committees, boards, and baking brownies for the bake sale. My problem is that I don’t feel obligated to serve . . . I want to help! But when I found myself grousing about the very thing I had volunteered for, I had to stop and ask myself if I was overcommitted.

During that time of self-reflection, I was serving on three boards, running two companies, teaching Sunday school, serving as a Stephen minister, and traveling all over the country—in addition to my most important roles as wife and mother. Doing a hundred-pound bench press was easier than carrying my purse around!

Slowly, I began to remove things from my schedule, one by one, so I could find what I needed for each day. And what I needed was to wake up feeling joyful, not burdened. It’s a mature, self-aware woman who learns to say, “Thank you for asking, but no I can’t . . .”

We have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. (Colossians 1:9-10)

Caution: those of us who are triple-type A will fall off the wagon within months if we’re not alert. Be careful that you don’t let too many volunteer efforts sneak back into that precious, but limited-capacity, handbag.

And a health update: while I did suffer from SOS (stressed-out schedule), I did not have MS.