When all is lost

Have you ever been lost? I think about when I am driving, and I don't know where I am going. I start off confident, but then at some point I go from confident to uncertain to completely lost. How does that happen in life? How do we go from feeling really good about what we are doing to completely lost? Yesterday, I had a few moments that I just felt completely overwhelmed. If I am being honest, I have had more and more of those days lately. My to do list keeps getting bigger and my available time seems to have been reduced to next to nothing. So, what steps can I take to get back on track? I want to be honest and upfront before we get too far into this, I am not a professional. This post is designed for the person who overall is doing well, but lately they have struggled. We all have periods of time where the expectations are greater than the energy we have available. At first, we seem to be handling it well, but then, before we can realize something has changed, we are completely drained, and our calendar is full. The first thing we need to do is to hit the pause button. We need to take time to stop and acknowledge where we are at. It reminds me of the old saying, "When you find yourself in a hole, the first thing you need to do is to put down the shovel". Take some time, put everything down and just pause. The next thing we need to do is get rid of some clutter on our to do list. Part of feeling overwhelmed is looking at our never ending to do list and knowing that we can't do it all. Let's be honest, some things have to get done today, others, can wait. Take a sheet of paper out, list the 3-5 things that need to get done and only focus on those things. Next, let's pause and pray. I know that most people are going to say that is step one, and yes I understand the argument. But I am going to assume that if you are reading this post, you have some sort of relationship with God already. If that is the case, I am picturing you going through this routine at work or at home in the middle of your day. This is something that happens when the moment hits where you feel overwhelmed or lost. Yes, you can go to God when you are feeling crazy, but I also know that sometimes you want to go to God with specifics. So now that we have paused and looked at what has to get done today, we are going to pray for God to guide our day. This might be the time that he takes something off our list or replaces something. But I want to pray that God helps me to stay on task and focused. This is the beginning of taking action, I need to start crossing things off of my to do list and I want God right there with me. Now, I want to make sure that my cup is getting filled up. I've been feeling drained lately, usually that means that I am doing things that are draining me or hanging out with people who are draining me. Now that I am in action mode, I need to be around people that are keeping me going. I also need to talk to one of those people and let them know that I am struggling. I want someone to be my accountability partner and make sure that I am not going back to my bad habits. When my day is over and it's time to stop, I need to make sure I am focusing on getting some rest. I need sleep to recover. When I am getting sleep, I am thinking clearly, and I am feeling healthy. When I don't have sleep, my mind is all over the place. I don't want to say that this next one is last on my list, but it comes last because I think of all of this like something that has happened in the middle of the day. So, the final thing I am going to mention is quiet time with God. Some people start the day with quiet time, others end the day with quiet time. Just make sure you are spending more time than you were in quiet time. You need direction, you need guidance. The only way that will happen is time with God. 

Seven things to focus on when you are feeling lost. Make sure you are taking time before you get overwhelmed. Make sure that before you make any moves you are praying. Make sure that you are going to God for guidance and direction.