On Our Ornery Acres

What!?!  You heard me, stop caring!  This isn't what you think.

Let me set this up for you.  Recently, a dear friend asked me, 'How do you manage homeschooling, being mom, keeping your home, being at the Dojo an awful lot, participating in this activity and that activity, church responsibilities, volunteering in the assisted living home, doing projects with the kids, working out, gardening, canning nearly year round, etc.?'

Well, the first thing I did was ask my friend to write all of that stuff down.  Really! I did.  Then I asked who she was talking about, because that person is way too busy. Her reaction was, 'You silly!' What!?!  Me? Trust me, I am not super woman, and I fall from grace pretty regularly.

Me!?!  No, that person you speak of seems way too busy.  Then I realized it is me.  I told her, I'd have to get back to her.  I needed to take a look at this question, and really think about it, before giving her an answer.  We got together a few days later and while my friend sat there eagerly awaiting my answer, she was startled by my response.  Dare I say she was a bit put out by it.  I told her my answer to her question was, stop caring!  That's it. Stop. Caring.

Her sputtering response was exactly what I expected.  "What! That's a bit harsh and unfeeling, don't you think?  How can you be a Christian and stop caring?"  That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" I stopped her there.  Her coffee was kicking in and she was becoming non-sensical. Let me explain.

I should preface my meaning here with this note.  Many years ago, a dear brother in Christ was speaking at an event and his words stung my ears.  He said, "You'll be amazed at what you can accomplish, for the Kingdom, when you stop caring what other people think." ~ Patrick Mead

When I say 'Stop  Caring' here's what I don't mean... I don't mean become an automoton, or a robot without feelings.  I don't mean, totally disregard others and what is important in their lives. I don't mean disregard those who are important to you.  I don't mean walking through life as an uncaring, vapid, self-centered, self-important individual without a thought for others or the world we live in. Those kinds of people exist in droves and the world could use a few less of them.


When I say, 'Stop Caring' what I do mean is... I try really hard to not care what others think of me.  OK, I'm human, things get to me, but I've learned a lot over the years and you know what? SPOILER ALERT ignorance is bliss (sorry, it had to be done!) in a lot of cases.  Really, it is! There's an old saying, 'What others think of you is none of your business.'  That's true!  The sooner you stop caring about what others think, you free up your mind and your time to do greater, more important things for the kingdom of God.  Really!  What I do mean is, look at where you are and what needs to get done, versus what others think you should be doing.  Read that again, go ahead, I'll wait.  I was constantly planning my days, weeks, life, around what others thought I should be doing, i.e.  The church activities, events, homeschooling, not by what GOD thought I should be doing, or, rather, what I should be doing for GOD... I was really busy at being busy, and not busy doing the work I should be doing.  What I do mean is, change your perspective to a Kingdom perspective, instead of an "others think I should" perspective and you'll be amazed how much you get done. What I do mean is, learn to say no.  I'm a southern NJ girl and I can say no rather definitively, but now I can do it with grace.  What I do mean is, you don't always have to give others an explanation either.  If you are about Your Father's business, that's all the explanation you need.  What I do mean is, you don't open the door for others to begin pressing their own agenda on you leading to you feeling guilty.  Come on! You know it happens.  Release it and open up your world.

All that said, my friend and I embarked on a new road in our walk.  She went home saying she needed to process what I'd said.  I told her I loved her and to call if she needed to talk it out some more.  I didn't hear from her all week, we were both busy, but I saw her at church on Sunday and she pulled me aside.  She was able to apply some Stop! Caring! ideas and started weighing things as Kingdom work versus busy work and found that she was able to free up time and energy previously wasted.  JOY! Rapture! Delight!

Does this approach work for everyone? Probably not, but most of this approach will help.  Stop caring about the stuff and care about the substance.  If God is leading your home, your mind and your way of life, you'll be amazed at what substance your life encompasses.  When I made room for God and stopped caring about the stuff, my world opened up and my time and energy increased for the greatest of all possibilities. In short, care more about what God thinks of what you do, rather than what others think of what you do.