Five Minute Friday is here once again!  The rules are simple: 1. Write for 5 minutes and don’t look back. 2. Link to Gypsy Mama’s 5 Minute Friday page. 3. The most important rule of all?  Stop at the person ahead of you and leave an encouraging word.  Of course, you can visit anyone else on the page you want as well.  Enjoy!

FOCUS

GO

The way I function best is in spurts.  I guess you would call me a Spurter.

I’ve always wished I could do things in little bits over a long period, but for the most part those jobs don’t tend to get finished.  I need to do jobs where I work hard in a big spurt, get the job done and move on.

It makes many of the parts of being a housewife and mother difficult.  It makes a lot of life difficult actually.  But over time, I’ve learned to find some balance.  I get the things done that I need to.  It isn’t always pretty, but it usually seems to work.

I no longer berate myself for not being a plodder.  I don’t do my housework in an organized way so that I only do 1/2 hour of housework a day.  Of course, some of it must be done that way, but I tend toward doing chunks of it on one day with some 15 minute segments here and there.

I’m a spurt person.  I married a plodder.  After we adjusted to the realities of it, we learned to enjoy the benefits and with each new stage, we continue to do so… for 44 years this month!

There are some things that won’t change.  As a spurter , I can focus on something intensely even if it means staying up late to finish the job…but it will be done and then I will move on to another project.  My life will be uneven and crazy at times, I may be frayed around the edges too, but that is how it will be…temporarily.  Then I’ll rest up and go to another project.

I race through life, tripping and bumping into things as I go.  My purse is overflowing and my mind is racing with a rush of thoughts.  I had to learn to see and hear people.  It was important and needed…but I am absent-minded and still need people to nudge me sometimes when I’m a million miles away in my head.  Generally, I do best in small conversations of 1-2 other people where I can focus and truly listen to what they are saying.

My husband, the plodder is no better or worse.  He is different.  He will not take on more than he thinks he can do.  He will work at a steady pace.  He will stop for meals.  He will do what needs to be done and be pleasant to people along the way.  He walks slowly and deliberately.  He is rarely ruffled by comments or circumstances.

STOP

He will get up at a regular time and go to bed at a regular time.  But in the end, he will probably accomplish about the same amount, maybe more.  He will just be less stressed.  He will be less intense along the way.  He will be enjoying the journey.

I have learned a lot from him over the years.  I especially have learned to say, “No” to commitments I know I can’t keep in order to please other people.  He doesn’t worry about other people…or what they think.  I don’t think they even realize it because he is so pleasant and kind to them.

I don’t get as tangled up in overwhelming projects as I once did.  But I still work in spurts.  I’m a spurt person.  I focus in spurts…and then move on to something else.  I can’t maintain long-term focus on short term tasks.  My husband can.

Oh, and by the way, I have changed a lot over the years.  I’m not nearly as guilty over my style as I once was.  I’ve learned to do things the way that works best for me and not worry so much about what others think about my style.  Most of the time they don’t even know how or when I get things done.

How about you?  Have you learned to live with the kind of person GOD is making you to be…and the kind of focus He has given you?  Learn to use it the way he meant.

Allow for times of rest, both physical and spiritual…between spurts if you are a Spurter.  Allow for times with people and for ministry if you are a Plodder…or away from ministry if you are a plodder in professional ministry.

What about the spouse GOD has given you?  Have you learned to appreciate their style?  Have you ever told them?  Or do you find yourself often making sarcastic comments about the down sides to their differences?  This can change.  GOD can change your attitude here…and it needs to change.

Remember your ultimate focus: glorifying and enjoying GOD…forever!