Peace family, do you struggle to complete personal projects as much as I do?
I do ok when it’s a work project, or something that someone else is depending on me for, but I have such a hard time making myself do the things that I myself want to do! However, right now I have two large projects that I want to get started with (a quilt and a series of watercolor paintings), so I’ve been spending my free time trying to finish up many projects that I’ve struggled to complete over the last few years. It’s ridiculous! My art room and bedroom are messes, with broken and unfinished things in boxes or piles, set out where I will see them (to remind me to do them, although it hasn’t helped much) and even in the floor (yikes! I feel embarrassed to type that), plus an odd assortment of papers and things I don’t know what to do with. It has started to feel a little overwhelming! Does your life ever get that way?
Thanks to a little extra time this weekend, I finally made some headway. I finished knitting a pair of socks that I started six years ago (my grandmother laughed at me when she heard that), finished sewing some kitchen curtains that I started about four years ago (my roommate said, “Well, better late than never,”), and finished mending several pairs of pants that have been out of commission for a year or two, among other things! (The next things on my list are a crochet hedgehog, a costume pirate jacket that I started sewing about 8-10 years ago, and a cuckoo clock that hasn’t worked since my cats pulled it off of the wall five years ago… ha!)
To be honest, the pile of uncompleted stuff was starting to make me feel pretty burdened and stressed, and I still have a lot to do, but every little bit finished makes me feel a little bit more at peace. Do you have any projects that feel out of control in your own life? They might not be art projects, but they might be home renovations, or career goals, or even relationships that could use a little maintenance.
Peace family, don’t lose hope! Trust it to God, pray, use wisdom and don’t try to do too much at once, and keep plugging away. Every little bit helps, and as my mom always used to tell me when I freaked out about school projects, “You eat an elephant one bite at a time. Focus on each bite and don’t lose hope at the size of the elephant. Just take one bite at a time.” Peace family, you can do it! If it’s worth doing, don’t give up. Just take the first step, and once you’re there, it will help you know what to do for all of the “next” steps that you are intimidated by. Hang in there, and before you know it, you will have finished what you started!
You must be logged in to post a comment.