Friday.
And I wonder this week – like every other week – did I really complete anything? OK, sure. Dinner, dishes, laundry, and maybe a phone call or two, but those intended projects, the ones that continue week after week to fall off my radar? What about them? Is it that I’m not up for the challenge? What is it that pushes some tasks lower on the priority rung? Completing projects can be tough! The struggle is real. I may have discovered the answer while helping a group of 4 year old children with a craft.
Do you remember the creation story? In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1) Are you with me so far? Remember that God created something every day for six days. Let me refresh your memory.
Day 1 – Night and Day
Day 2 – Created Sky and separated it from Water
Day 3 – Plants and vegetation
Day 4 – Sun and Moon
Day 5 – Birds and Fish
Day 6 – Animals and People
We reviewed the story with our pre-schoolers and asked them to use pictures, stickers, and crayons to show what God created. These two pictures illustrate my dilemma of when tasks and steps of a project lead to a successful completion. Notice how the picture above is sparse while the one below has interest, character, and looks more complete. As they ran from the craft table to get on with activities of ‘higher priority’, each child proclaimed their projects – COMPLETE!
This was my aha moment! One barrier to completing projects is vague specifications. It isn’t that my projects aren’t important. It isn’t that my interest has waned. Similar to how my preschoolers approached their pictures, I have tools, supplies, resources, and definition; after all, my projects have names. But I lack specification that determines progress leading all the way to – COMPLETE.
And by the way – on day 6, God was satisfied with all the work He did and said it was Very Good! Then – He rested all day on the 7th day. I promise. He rested from his work and he wasn’t even tired. He rested because he wanted to enjoy what he completed.
For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete. Deuteronomy 16:15b
