Embrace the Chaos: Choosing Content in the Midst of the Crazy

Have you ever said these words before…

“I just have to get through the next few weeks and then life will settle down again.”

I know these words have been spoken time and time again in our home. There have been weeks and months when the craziness of life can seem almost unbearable.

When you speak in front of large groups for a living, the stress can pile up quickly. We’ve had seasons of speaking, two or three times per week, maintaining our responsibilities with our jobs at church and doing a wedding in the middle of all of it.

 

And for me, the stress just begins to mount in my mind.

 

If you do any kind of public speaking, you can attest to the fact that the nerves and pressure never entirely go away even if you have been doing it for a long time. Every time I speak in front of a crowd, which to be clear I love, I feel this weight and pressure. The stress can feel overwhelming.

 

In fact, confession time, I have a reoccurring nightmare that I am about to get up in front of a large group to speak and… I don’t have anything prepared. I have no idea what I am going to talk about. My heart starts racing. Panic sets in. That is until that glorious moment when I wake up in a cold sweat and celebrate the fact it was all a dream and not my reality. #ThankYouJesus

 

Sometimes life can feel like a juggling act can’t it? Trying to master control of all the things before they end up controlling you. Chasing that elusive unicorn we call “balance.” Then just when you think you have it mastered, another object gets thrown into the mix causing you, in turn, to feel crazy.

You can imagine adding two or three speaking engagements in a week while performing  a wedding, which is one of the biggest and most monumental days in someone’s life, compounded with daily family and work responsibilities, the pressure can feel overwhelming. The words, “I just need to get through the next few weeks and then I will be ok,” have played through my mind more times then I would care to admit.

 

Then one day I came across this passage of scripture in Philippians 4:12-13 and it become pretty clear it was one of those nudges from God.

 

 

The author of this passage of scripture is a guy by the name of Paul. Paul spoke publicly for a living. He lived a couple thousand years ago and his life mission was to spread the message of Christianity to the world.

 

This passage is saying there were times in his life when he had more than enough money, good food, and a place to call home. And then, there were times when he didn’t know where his next meal was going to come from. There were times when Paul stood in front of a crowd to speak and the people received his message and became followers of Christ instantly. And there were times when he stood in front of a crowd to speak and they hated his message, ran him out of town, and tried to take his life. This guy lived a stressful life to say the least and yet he said these words:

 

“I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation”

 

These words leapt off the page at me. It was undeniable.  God was trying to speak a message deep into my heart.

 

I don’t want to be the guy who wishes away seasons of my life. I want to be rooted in gratefulness. Life flies by and if we are not careful we end up wishing away some of the best moments because they appear stressful from a distance.

 

I think it was the infamous Ferris Bueller who said, “Life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop and look around every once in awhile you could miss it.”

 

 source

My question for you is this: “What if we embraced the chaos instead of wishing it away?”

What if we celebrated each day and each opportunity instead of letting it overwhelm us and cause us to just get through it?

 

This is our life after all.

Today.

Right now.

Just as it is.

Let’s not close our eyes and wish it away. Let’s not pray for God to give us a fast forward button. Let’s believe that He is good and faithful. Let’s believe that this season is on purpose. Let’s believe that there’s an incredible truth about Himself He’ll be faithful to reveal to us if we’ll choose to invest deeply into the soil of today.

 

Is it possible to learn the secret of being content in any and every situation?

 

Is it possible to choose to see the beauty in your No Small Life now and not merely when you get through the next season or accomplishment?

 

Is it possible to stop focusing on what you are:

not doing,

don’t have,

wish you had,

and begin focusing on all the good and positive things that are happening in your actual life right now?

 

If you know us, and you know No Small Life, you know we are proponents of thinking positive, going after your dreams, working hard, setting goals, and not letting anything stop you along the way. We love that message and we believe that you have what it takes to live a full, well-rounded and meaningful life worth celebrating. We believe that you can and will make your mark on this world.

 

We believe if every single person identified a vision for their life, created a plan to accomplish it and persevered to achieve it they could and would find true fulfillment! We even wrote a free ebook to help you do it.

 get it here

 

We believe in that message wholeheartedly.

However, if we don’t learn the secret of being content, the fact that we can do all things through Christ-not because of or independent of but THROUGH Christ-we will never be able to enjoy where we are in life and what we do have. If we don’t learn the secret of being content, we will always want more and will constantly wish our days away.

 

Whether you speak publicly for a living, have a stressful job, or you are a stay at home mom with constant craziness zooming around you, let’s make a deal today:

Embrace the chaos, enjoy your life just as it is, and choose to be content today.

 

“ This is what and who I am and THIS is my current situation and I’m going to CHOOSE to invest myself deeply into the soil of this life instead of wishing my circumstances are different or they looked like someone else.”

Shauna Niequist 

 

Until next time,

Chris

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