Dropping the Burden of Performance

Are you feeling burdened right now? This season can be stressful and depleting; how sad given that this is meant to be a time of joy and refreshment. You'll find some excellent pointers and encouragement in Judy's post yesterday about how to do school over the holidays. But homeschooling isn't the only downward pressure.

I've shared before about how I tend to feel glum during the holidays. For me, I don't think it's SAD (seasonal affective disorder); it could be. One influence I can identify is that I'm very much a 3 on the enneagram. I'm the kind of person who must feel I have "achieved" something each day and the frenetic holiday season can get in the way of my perceived accomplishments.

Burden

My wife loves personality tests (I'm an INTP on Myers-Briggs). Reading more about the enneagram, she came across a book written by a Franciscan priest. He says that it can be embarrassing to discover our weaknesses, our negative tendencies. Kids do the same thing, bringing to light our areas of struggle (I liked how Heidi put it in her post On Adolescence). But the message is one of hope: God uses us! In spite of ourselves, He works His will. Using the strengths and tendencies He put in us, He offers redemption. And when this season places us in situations where we are not our best -- exhausted, pressured, confronting old wounds -- I think it is important to remember God's grace and His call.

Many Other Posts of Note from this week echoed this theme. I really appreciated:

And I'm reminded also of my own post on how Christmas is a story of turmoil.

The story of God's love is a beautiful one. The story of His grace is freeing. Please, read over the beautiful posts above and be encourage by what these women share. God wants you. And He'll use your talents and your work for His glory because He is working in and through you. I need that reminder. I too often want to try to lug the burden of performance with me. But I sense, once again, God whispering to me, "Let go. Drop that."

My inner achiever screams, "But then you won't ever do anything, Luke!"

But that guy is wrong.

I will do much more when I rest in Christ and follow where He takes me.

May you find rest this season. May the joy of the Lord be your strength and His kindness lead you to repentance.

Joy. Hope. Love.

Join me as I try to leave my burdens at His feet and let Him lift my head.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Pseudo-Dad