Have you ever known what you needed to do, but you just didn’t wanna?  The risks are too high, the effort is too great, the work is too hard. Whatever the excuse, something stands in the way of doing what you know is right.  I, personally, get so frustrated with myself when I’m in this kind of situation.  I try to tell myself to ‘put on my big girl pants’ and do what needs to be done.

Because of my past experiences, I’ve got the outlook that the work doesn’t matter, as long as I’m doing what is ‘right.’  I’m not afraid of a little sweat and tears – bring on the labor, as long as I’m doing what is right.  I don’t want to waste my energy on going down the wrong path.

Now, let me say this — this does NOT mean that I have never taken the wrong path.  In fact, I often find myself lost or having made bad choices. But I do know that my intentions are usually in the right place.  At the time, I did what I thought was best.  Does God take this into consideration?  Does He look down on me and say “gosh, that girl Mel … she sure has made a major screw up of some parts of her life – but gosh her heart was always in the right place.  Even when she failed, I knew she was trying to please me.”

I say yes.  I think that my ‘frame of heart’ (so to speak) matters to Him.  When I look at my kids I know that their frame of heart matters to me.  When Jaden tries to help me clean the windows, but all he really did was use an entire roll of paper towel, half a bottle of Windex and really just smeared the dirt around in a circle – I smile and say thank you.  I know he was trying to do right by me.  He was acting in a way that sought approval from me.  I might have to sigh and re-set before saying anything – fighting the urge of annoyance on all the wasted paper towel and even bigger mess I will now have to clean up.  But I clean it up any ways and usually with a smile on my face, thinking “he means well.”

Will my efforts get me into heaven even if the end result is always a mess?  I think God expects me to be a complete mess.  I will never ever ever ever ever be perfect.  I’m human.  I’m born with sin and I will always be impure.  It’s just the reality.  But my ‘job’ is to love my God.  To follow His word.  To always be thinking of Him and gauging my actions and decisions on what I think He would want me to do. Just like those bracelets from years back – WWJD.  What would Jesus do?  They have a lot of truth.

So even when it’s tough, and you just don’t wanna.  Know that your intentions matter.  If your intentions are just laziness – well that’s what God is going to see.  If you are afraid, but do it anyways … even if you make a huge fool/mess of yourself … he sees that.  He knows you tried to do what He expects.  So have courage.  Face those obstacles.  Do what you know is right … even if you don’t wanna.

Love, Mel

ps.  If only it were as easy to take my own advice 🙂