Am I too busy setting your house in order to worry about my own?

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Rita will be the Keynote Speaker: 

> "Dare To Dream" at the upcoming

2015 Mid-Winter Writers Conference

on Saturday, February 28, 2015.

For more information please visit:

==>Website = http://MWWConference.com

==>Facebook = MidWinterWritersConference

==>Registration Page = http://bit.ly/1DVaHqk

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Song of Solomon 1:6 “They made me the keeper of the vineyards; but my own vineyard have I not kept.”

In my heart of hearts, I really do know I can’t change or “fix” anyone. I can’t even “fix” myself; instead I have to rely on God to change me. So why do I continue to find myself worrying about what’s happening in my kids’ lives or the lives of anyone else for that matter?

The bride in Song of Solomon laments, “my mother’s children were angry with me.” Then she goes on to say she neglected her own vineyards when they made her the keeper of their vineyards. (Song of Sol 1:6) Doesn’t that sound just like those of us who love a prodigal?

We’ve paid their bills, bailed them out of jail, had their electricity or gas turned back on and bought groceries for their families. We’ve made excuses for their actions (or inaction) to their spouses, our spouses and the rest of the family, their bosses, and even their probation officers. We’ve stood beside them in court feeling the shame that they should be feeling but aren’t.

While we’re doing unreasonable things for ungrateful people, our “own vineyard” is falling apart. And why would that surprise us? We have limited resources, whether those resources are financial, physical, or emotional. If we are using those resources up doing for people what they should be doing for themselves, it won’t be long before our “gas tank” is on Empty.

We can recognize whether we’re too focused on someone else’s “vineyard” and neglecting our own by asking ourselves a few questions. Have I spent money I can’t really afford paying for things my prodigal should be paying for? Am I making sure my own physical, emotional, and spiritual needs are met?

Do I spend time with friends or with my spouse doing the things I enjoy? Can I have a long conversation with someone without once mentioning the prodigal or his behavior? Am I losing sleep worrying about what my ex-husband, my grown children, or anyone else is doing? Am I able to let happen whatever is going to happen without interfering?

If you’re hoping to achieve all that in a week, a month or a year, you’ll be disappointed. But there should be growth in those areas if I’m “setting my house in order.” (2 Kings 20:1) I’m better than I was about taking my hands off the lives of people I love, but that doesn’t mean I don’t occasionally try.

I doubt I’ll ever reach the point where I don’t think I need to know what’s going on. Now, however, when I find myself too focused on that “watching, wondering, worrying,” I realize no one is doing that to me. I know it’s me making my life crazy. Recognizing that I’m making my own life crazy means I can also be the one to do something about it. Just for today.

Challenge for Today: What might happen if we, just for today, stopped taking care of everyone else and tried to take care of ourselves?