I am a recovering Chicken Little.
No, I don’t have issues with feather tendencies or a waning poultry aversion. But up until the last few months, I have been living quite a Chicken Little life.
Everything in my world was very dramatic. Not like “OMG-No-You-Didn’t” dramatic, but “Oh-plans-have-changed-the-sky-is-falling-we-are-all-gonna-die!” Something like that.
I like to have control. A LOT. (I probably love control.) But being in control and following Jesus usually go together as well as pickles and milk. Or orange juice and toothpaste. Or… You get my drift.
Recently, I have been thrust lovingly called forth to fill some pretty challenging leadership positions. And I have realized that when things fall apart, I now use one of my sweet husband’s favorite phrases to talk my team town off the edge.
“It’s not a show stopper.”
Honestly, I used to resist this phrase with a passion. The moment when my beloved would utter it in attempt to give me perspective and help me to simmer down, I would be like “DUDE YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW!”
Enter Chicken-Little-Sky-Falling experience.
The last several months, as I have been seeking and living my OneWord of REST, God has been working on me. He revealed a very powerful heart check tool called My Daily Cross-Examination.
Just like the two questions to ask in my daily cross-examination, “Does it Matter?” and “Can I control it?” this whole “Not a show stopper” dealio adds to the formula.
Because when I really think about it, not a lot of things are TRULY show stoppers.
Other people have started to join this non-show stopping crusade. Hours before we were getting ready to kick off a national leadership conference, things were (naturally) chaotic. We were searching for missing materials and one of the gals running the show asked me if we ok or cray-cray (my words, not hers.)
I looked her right in the eye and before I could argue with myself, I said it:
“You know, we are gonna be ok. It’s not a show stopper.”
She lit up and said, “Wow. What a great way to look at it! I am going to start saying that.”
The light bulb clicked for me at that moment too. In the grand scheme of things, very few things are truly show stoppers. Show adjusters, maybe, but not stoppers.
Army schedule changes? Not a show stopper.
Toddler’s nap cut short? Not a show stopper.
It rains on a day I was planning on running outside? Not a show stopper. (If it’s raining, we’re training, right?)
A delivery that I am expecting is delayed an extra day? Not a show stopper.
Trying to watch my calories but having a super hungry day? Not a show stopper.
What “Not a show stopper” examples would you add to the list? Share below in the comments.
Friends, if you are anything like me, one who likes to have a plan and execute the plan with no changes of plan, maybe we should go on this crusade to find Holy Perspective.
God is in charge. And really, with that in mind, the show must go on. It’s not a show stopper unless Jesus says so. #Amen
Rollin’ with it,
“…Which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Controller, the King of kings and Lord of lords…” ~1 Timothy 6:15 NIV
Linking up today with Kelly, Laura at Playdates with God, Joan’s Beauty in His Grip, Jen over at Soli Deo Gloria Sisterhood, and Hazel via Tell Me a Story. Be sure to join our #EverydayJesus link-up community right here at 7 Days Time every Thursday!
