Dear Little Sis,
So this isn’t the original post I had scheduled to write for this week. Originally, I was going to sit down and write a post I had planned out months ago. I decided this was more important.
That’s the thing, the posts I want to write for you guys are part of a plan, a plan that is guided by the things God lays on my heart. Lately I’ve felt him telling me to talk about this word we’re all so afraid to say; the word no.
It’s easy to say no to some things. For example, if you’re afraid of heights and your friend asks you to go skydiving, you’d gladly decline. But, sometimes it’s not so easy to say no. For example, if you are asked to take on a leadership position in a club you’re really passionate about, but you don’t think you have the time to do it. Of course this position is something you’d love to do, but it’s not something you can.
How many times have we allowed ourselves to stay involved in things we don’t have time to do because we are afraid of what saying no will do? I was always told that research was a requirement for college students looking to go to graduate school. When I got to campus naturally I started looking for opportunities to get involved. Let me tell you, I hate research. I don’t like working in a lab, and as you can probably tell, I prefer to use my creative side. Despite knowing these things about myself, I still made myself apply for research opportunities.
When I began to look at the time commitment of these research labs, I was overcome with sadness. I felt like I had chosen the wrong major because research was going to keep me from doing the things I was most passionate about. I was so afraid of saying no to research. I had been told for so long it was the only way to get into graduate school, or to get a good job. If you are overwhelmed by the pressure “to get involved”, you can read more in my post found here!
When I was going through this internal battle with myself, I stumbled across Lysa Terkeurst’s book The Best Yes. In it she says, “A woman who lives with the stress of an overwhelmed schedule will often ache with sadness of an underwhelmed soul.” I mean, wow! Guys, don’t you hear what she’s saying?
Yes people may tell you that research is required. You might be scared to tell your student body president that you can’t accept the position. You might be scared to lose a friendship with someone close to you. Whatever it is that’s keeping you from saying yes to yourself, it’s not worth an underwhelmed soul.
This is your life and your schedule. You have the ability to fill it up in whatever way pleases you. We hear those little voices in the back of our mind saying, “do this,” or “go here”. Like it says in the bible Isaiah 30:21, “Your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, this is the way walk in.” So listen to that voice! God’s pulling us in the right direction and if we choose to listen to him our lives will be so much more fulfilled.
Dear Lord,
I just pray that you look out for all of us who are in situations where we’re struggling to say no. These types of scenarios are often scary and confusing. I ask that you give us clarity to make the right choice. We’re coming to you because we know that Your path for us is so much better than our own. You lead us to live a life that provides an overwhelmed soul. Help us to hear Your voice and choose to follow it.
Most importantly, I ask that you be there for the people on the other end of our no. Help them understand that we’re not saying no to them, but yes to You and ourselves. It’s okay to follow the path you have set out for us. Some of us are filled with this disease to please those around us and in doing that, we forget to please You, God.
Amen
With Love,
Ashley Ardele
