Today, I want to share another life changing quote by Elizabeth Elliot.
"When you don’t know what to do next, just do the thing in front of you."
While this may not seem overly wise....it revolutionized my life. I was a stay at home mom (now referred to as SAHM). I had a baby and a two year old. I listened to Elizabeth's Elliot on the radio as I dealt with my day. I was overwhelmed with the demands of two small children. I was a pastor's wife in a small church plant 600 miles from family. Besides I wasn't particularly gifted in homemaking especially in organization and cleaning. I was ready to give up, live a life of depression and have many good cries.
These words spoke to me in a massive way. I was so overwhelmed with life and I didn't know where to begin. Which is more important for today, potty training or clean laundry? On a given day, it might be potty training. The next day, priority may need to go to laundry. What Elizabeth and her wise words taught me was that I couldn't do everything but I could do something: the most important thing for that moment.
I repeated, "When you don’t know what to do next, just do the thing in front of you," many times over the course of many years. It was just the wisdom I needed to keep going and not give up. A verse of scripture that came to mean a lot to me talks about this idea.
She did what she could. Mark 14:18
Mary anointed Jesus with perfume. She had perfume and Jesus was present. She had the opportunity and she did it. She couldn't do everything but she do this one thing. Christians are still talking about what she did and the love she had for her savior. I can't do everything but I can do the next thing!
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