Max Effort part 5
Putting in effort doesn't always mean doing the biggest thing. And for a guy who has the motto of "Go big or go home" that's a lesson that I continually have to focus on. Because I'm a fixer. If I see a problem, I want to take care it. I don't want it to be a problem anymore. But that's not always what the situation calls for. Some problems aren't yours to fix. Sometimes people have to go through things. That's how they learn and grow. So if you do everything FOR someone, you can rob them of experiences they need to have. And, listen, I'm not saying you should just throw people to the wolves either. My mantra with my son is this: "Logan, try your best. And if you still need help I've got your back. One hundred percent." Because I don't want him to depend on me for everything. I want him to be able to do what he can do. Now I always want to point out that this isn't EXACTLY how our heavenly Father feels towards us. Because He DOES want us to depend on Him. For everything. But, again, that doesn't mean we don't do anything ourselves. Rest is not inactivity. Rest is Holy Spirit directed activity. And the Holy Spirit always directs us to love. And love is the max effort you can give someone--giving everything you have and everything you are. So we DO from a posture of rest. Not trying to hard. Not doing what we CAN'T do, but simply doing what we CAN do. Giving what we've got. Which, when you think about it, is all we really can do. You can't give what you don't have. How could you? You don't have it. And you can only give what you do have. What else could you possibly give? But my point is: Don't try to do too much. Don't try to be someone you're not. Stay in your lane, if I can say it that way. Walk according to your calling. You are uniquely positioned to be YOU and to touch people that God has (or will) put in YOUR path. The effort isn't about doing what you can't do. Its about doing what you can do. Its not about being who you're not. Its about being who you are. Sometimes the most effort you will ever have to put in to something is to stop yourself from doing something. Because, especially if you're anything like me, your first instinct will be to go all out. To rush in and fix things. So sometimes you have rein yourself in. Seek first to understand, right? Make sure you know what's going on before you start kicking benches over. Maybe those benches need to be there. Maybe--certainly--there's more going on than just what meets the eye. There's surface stuff, sure, but if you just stick a band-aid on it you might miss the CAUSE of the surface stuff. You might miss what's really going on. You might treat the symptom, but miss out on the disease. And if that happens, the symptoms will come back. So by trying to hard you might be hurting instead of helping. Sometimes less is more. Letting things play out. You can be there, ready to reach out, but you don't have to make everything "perfect" all the time. Or YOUR idea of what perfect is. Put your effort into understanding, so that you can love in the way someone needs to be loved. So that you can help in a way that will actually help. Sometimes the least you can do is the most you can do. Sometimes the small things ARE the big things. And sometimes max effort is about letting go instead of hanging on.