I love all things planning. I listen to planning podcasts, read planning books, and use multiple planning systems. You can read all about my favorites here. I think planning is valuable, and I make time for it in my life. However, I have learned through some hard (and sometimes embarrassing) lessons that focusing too much on the future (or the past, for that matter) can rob us of the joy of today.
I struggle with anxiety and Bipolar Disorder (read more in Post #7), and one of the coping strategies that helps me if focusing on my “next right thing.” I first heard this phrase on Emily P. Freeman’s podcast The Next Right Thing. I found this podcast at the suggestion of Kendra Adachi over at The Lazy Genius. Focusing on the next five years, the next year, the next season, the next month, the next week, or even tomorrow can feel overwhelming. Emily suggests, when decision fatigue creeps in, focusing on deciding on just the next right thing.
I feel so much overwhelm when I think about my mission. I believe everyone is called to live out their God given mission, but the enormity of this task can leave me feeling frozen. This has especially been true during my husband and my journey with infertility which I talk about more in Post #4. Discerning what my mission might be feels overwhelming, much less how to live that mission out! Cultivating the practice of asking myself what God is calling me to today helps to alleviate the fear of making all the wrong decisions. It helps me to focus on serving the people God has placed in front of me at this present moment without closing off the possibility that my mission might look different in the future.
This is why I chose to name this blog Mission Today. Focusing on today’s mission allows me to take steps forward without knowing where the path is leading. One temptation that comes with planning is assuming that things will go according to … the plan. Kendra Adachi writes and speaks about how we must hold our plans loosely, always willing to pivot when needed. I find this to be so true.
Another overwhelming facet of thinking about mission is feeling the weight of everything that needs to be done. However, I am working on trusting that others will do what God calls them to do, and if they do not, God will take care of that. I cannot do everything. I can only do the few things God is calling me to do. When I try to do everything, I end up doing a poor job on the few things I get to and feeling incredibly overwhelmed in the process. There is a freedom in trusting that I can focus on doing the work God has for me well, and then I can pray for and release the rest.
I’m certainly not great at this way of living, but it is a priority to me. I am consistently having to reevaluate my commitments to ensure that I am not doing something (or many things) simply because I feel like I should instead of because God asked me to. I’m also forming the habit of asking whether God wants me to do something today, or whether he might want me to do something in another season of my life. All of these small steps are helping me focus on living with purpose. Let us each strive to live out our own unique mission today, and let us trust that God will take care of the rest.
Mission Today 
