Seven-Day Practical Faith Blog: Let Whatever You Do Today Be Enough

I have a sign - actually, a painted wooden block - that sits on my desk. My wife Sara gave it to me, knowing how I try to cram something into each of my 24 hours every day. A Type A never has enough time on their hands.

Since she gave it to me, when I lay my head on my pillow at night, I often think of the saying on this wood block. It's time to not only lay down my head but to lay down my expectations and my anxieties. The day is gone. Another one awaits, and I need to rest up for it.

But the thought is to not just give up on the day but to make peace with the day. I must accept whatever happened, whatever got done and didn't get done, wherever I fell short, the tasks that linger, the outcomes that remain unsettled. It's enough to have had the gift of this day and to now release it.

Not only do we need to let go of our stress but to let go of something larger: our fear. Fear may be expressed in a lot of ways, from anger to perfectionism. Maybe we just fear the sand is running out on the hourglass of our lives.

Rachel Jobe writes in her book, "Let Go!":

One of the great misunderstandings that seems to permeate every branch of Christianity is that of how to achieve excellence: excellence at work, excellence in relationships, excellence in parenting, excellence in marriage, excellence in ministry, excellence in life. . .as it turns out, perfectionism is a cheap counterfeit to true excellence. Perfectionism is rooted in fear—a fear of failure—and diseased roots produce diseased fruits. . .As we look at Scripture, we see that our Lord’s emphasis for us is actually not on doing, but on being. We need to be people through whom the Holy Spirit of God can flow freely.

My Type A core quivers at such writing, such blasphemy to the importance of doing. Yet my core also realizes I should finish reading Jobe's book, where most of the chapter titles begin with the word "Surrender."

Look at my wood block again. The words "do" and "be" are both present. As I stare at the phrase, something transforms. Something merges about my doing joining my being, and both representing "enough." I am enough. You are enough.

I'm not going to come to any brilliant conclusion here. I'm simply here for the struggle, and the struggle is real.

But I am also here for the punch line, as I repeat perhaps the oldest non-knock-knock joke I know.

"To be is to do." - Socrates

"To do is to be." - Jean-Paul Sartre

"Do be do be do." - Frank Sinatra

I do a lot of stuff in my ministry. Is it enough? For this day, let's say yes. You can find everything I offer, free and requiring payment, by starting at CecilTaylorMinistries. com.