Life Organized by the Spirit

My external world was physically in chaos. It looked out of control. 

My internal world felt overextended, overwhelmed and over it all. It felt out of control. 

My eternal world, Thank God, then stepped in and took control of it all.

This is an example from my own life where once my internal world was organized, then my external became organized too. My story went something like this:

I had so many things on my plate. We were in the middle of a home renovation, with contractors coming in and out of the house with decisions to be made. We were living in a mess, a literal construction mess. My three children were in two different schools, each with different pick up and drop off times. The kids each had several after school activities they needed to be driven to daily. I was moving my older parents into a new home (across the street from mine!) and I needed to help them downsize, pack and move. I was working a part time job outside the home carrying out my responsibilities there and then all the duties of running my home, too. The chores were piling up. In addition, there was my spiritual life which became an afterthought if I had any juice left in me to give it time and attention. There was a lot of balls in the air. Naturally, I began to feel as if I was dropping them all. 

My swirling and chaotic thoughts about how it was all too much began to show itself in a very tangible physical way.-- I got sick. I came down with the flu and then an added diagnosis of bronchitis which added 10 days to my already four of the flu. I spent a couple weeks in bed. No mama available to clean house, go to work, talk to the contractors, drive to school, take the kids to activities, or help the parents. 

Before this perspective, however, the story continued like this-

While I was lying still and in bed, there was only me and my mind. During that time I was able to think. I had the time to go inward and see how I thought my way into the situation, and decided I needed to think my way out of it. I gained perspective, went within to answer self reflecting questions and I called on the Holy Spirit to show me the way.  

After I recovered and went back to work, I carried with me the stillness and internal calm that I had gained from doing nothing but recovering. I returned to work. Before my computer could even boot up again, I heard the Holy Spirit speak to me. This is what I heard.

“I am leading you on a different path. Relinquish control and let me guide you.”  

.......The period of internal reflection, with the Holy Spirit's guidance, enlightened me to change my way of thinking about all that was "on my full plate."  

What I know now, that I didn't know then is- I was the creator of external chaos by what i was thinking about it all in my own mind. My internal world, internal state of being, reflected onto my external world, not the other way around. My thinking (internal) about all that was happening in my life (external), is actually what was causing the feelings of overwhelm and stress.  The deep belief that "It was all too much" was the source of it all being too much.

When you are given the chance to really understand this concept, you can apply it to any area of your life and see profound changes. That is what I did. I began to look at all the "things I was juggling" as a gift instead of a burden, as a privilege instead of a barrier, as an opportunity instead of an obstacle. Just mental shifts changed everything. I made new decisions and prioritized obligations, I let things go and took back control.

You too may feel like you are drowning in responsibilities or buried in a pile of "to-do's." Don't wait for life to force you to go inward, start there and watch the Holy Spirit light up your pathway to peace.

If you'd like to learn more on how mindset and thought work can enlighten your internal and external world, sign up for a free coaching session and watch your life change in profound ways too.