No, no...no need to bow or curtsy! There's no way you could have known. We try not to flaunt it, but there are times when those of us who are to the manor born simply cannot contain the blueness of our blood. It comes out at the most inopportune of times, leaving the poor peasant people of the realm in awe and wonder that we've kept it secret for so long.
What's that you say? Where is my kingdom? What country do I rule? Silly, silly person! Isn't it evident?
I AM THE QUEEN OF PROCRASTINATION!
The motto of our land is "Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?" I have lived by that motto for the greatest part of my life.
I ascended the throne at a tender age. I began by not wanting to go to bed on time, and as I got just a bit older it escalated to waiting until I almost had accidents before making a trip to the bathroom.
Since I love to read, reading often became the pastime that took the place of other things I should have been doing...such as taking a bath. When I was in grade school my mother would run a bath for me and tell me to get in. I would dutifully obey her. Of course, I would have a book with me all the time I was in the bathroom. Carefully sliding into the water, I'd make sure not to get my hands or the pages of the book wet. I'd happily sit there for as long as she'd let me, no soap involved. When she banged on the door to tell me to get out, I would; just as dirty as when I went in. She never could figure out why I always lacked that squeaky clean smell I was supposed to have after bathing. When I asked her about it years later she told me she just chalked it up to a defective gene from my father's side of the family, so the only thing she could do was to love me the way I was...stench and all. What a woman!
My weapon of choice in the battle against getting things done as an adult is the computer. I am able to spend countless hours furthering the cause of doing nothing until the last minute, while at the same time justifying it. "I'm researching stuff...important stuff," I say. "Just one more round of this game and I'll get that done," I think. "Gotta keep that hand/eye coordination thing going at my age," I reason with myself. Convincing myself it's all for the greater good, I sometimes stay up until the wee hours of the morning doing just these things. Forget about laundry, fixing dinner, dusting...all those mundane things must be pushed aside while I am in pursuit of world peace, a new recipe, or the latest find on ebay!
To date one of my top procrastinatory feats has been my inabiltiy to finish my bachelor's degree. This one has a myriad of reasons attached, all with their own merit. At first I stopped taking classes because I didn't have time. Then I started dropping classes when I knew I was going to get less than an "A" for a grade. Then I had more children, then I decided it really wasn't worth it, then I took a few more classes, dropped a few more, and so on, and so on, and so on. As it stands now I have one class left to take in order to get my associate's degree. A TWO-YEAR DEGREE. It's been that way now for ten years. My current excuse is that we can't afford it. I figure I can probably stretch this one out until I reach the age of 65, at which point I can take classes for free. Of course, the degree won't mean diddly squat then, but hey - I'll at least HAVE one...or not.
My current dilemna has to do with clothing. Having lost around 40 pounds in the last year, I now find myself with few articles of attire that actually fit. In three weeks my stepson is getting married. I have to have a dress for the occasion.
I wonder what I could find on ebay....
It certainly is a good thing God's kingdom is not like mine. What if He'd waited to send Jesus? What if He had better things to do than make certain our eternal souls would live forever with Him? What if He decided to sculpt another mountain or even create another universe instead of inspiring the writers of the Bible? Where would we be?
That's not something I want to think about. But here is something I HAVE to think about. What is my lifestyle showing others about God? Because I put off things until the last minute, does that tell others it's OK? And (work with me here) is that the message I want to give to those who have not accepted Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives? Am I telling them by my actions, "Hey, put it off as long as you can. There's always tomorrow!"?
My laundry somehow loses all significance in comparison.
Father, change me. Help me to see the way I act can affect the way others see You, because I am Your hands and feet here on earth. Forgive my laziness, Lord. Help me to DO rather than PUT OFF. Put action in my bones, Lord!
2 Corinthians 6:2
For God says, "At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you." Indeed, God is ready to help you right now. Today is the day of salvation.
New Living Translation © 1996 Tyndale Charitable Trust
Hebrews 6:12
We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
New Living Translation © 1996 Tyndale Charitable Trust
New Living Translation © 1996 Tyndale Charitable Trust
4 comments:
Oh, will the similarities between us never end???
I have gotten better about this in some ways and worse about it in others. I don't really care if the knick knacks get dusted ever since the whole "heart thing" (i.e. "life is too short to worry about dusting!") but I have learned to do the things that HAVE to be done so I can exist in a peaceful and harmonious environment. Clean clothes. Fresh groceries. Gas in car every Monday morning. These things keep me from feeling scattered so I CAN concentrate on hearing God and spending my Sabbath with Him instead of pretending to be with him while I am actually worrying about everything I didn't get done that I should.
Okay, not sure that helps you but I think I just won the award for leaving the longest comment on a blog post, eh?
Now, wait just a minute Jules. I do believe I can beat you. At least I'll try! ;)
Your reading in the bathtub is exactly what I did. To the "t"!! Never scrubbed, just read. One of my weekly chores was to vacumn the upstairs bedrooms. Well, that trusty vacumn went on and stayed on all the while I sat on my bed reading. Of course I had to do a "cursory" sweep of the room in the middle of the floor before heading to the next room with my book. ;)
You made me begin laughing when I read the bath part! Oh my goodness!
Congrats on losing the weight! My hubby is sending me out to buy a new outfit for tomorrow (it's our 31st anniversary) but have I gone yet? No....am I going to go? Yes...I'll get to it.
There is one thing...I don't remember crowning you Queen too. And, I think probably I've been Queen just a tad longer than you so I would have had to crown you Queen. ;)
Sorry Jules, she's right. She beat you.
Claire, I cannot believe we are that much alike, or that you are as warped as I am in the reading regard! :) Do you also have the problem of starting a book, then being unable to stop reading until the book is done? My husband gets SO irritated with me on that one!
I was supposed to shop for the dress this weekend with my stepdaughter. Didn't happen. I'll try to get to it this weekend. Happy anniversary!
And I'll tell you what, you can be Queen of the West, and I'll be Queen of the Midwest. I'll wait to hear from someone else who wants to be Queen of the East. How's that? :0)
See, it's those younger brain cells! I think that's a wonderful idea!
Oh my yes. I will read until 4 in the morning to finish a book. Before we married my hubby jokingly said to me, in front of my mom, "You had better not be one of those women who watch soaps all day and eats bon-bons." My mother looked at him and said, "Oh, tv will never be the problem with her...but watch out for the reading!" She never addressed the bon-bon issue... ;)
Computer blogging has taken a slight bit of time away from reading but I would rather read than do almost anything else. :D
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