Breaking our Backs for something Bigger

It’s Friday once again. I looked at my desk planner and saw how the past week was filled with deadlines, meetings, appointments and errands. I just had our laundry sorted and listed this morning (I take note of every piece of clothing that goes to the Laundromat) I just sent off Kean to school on his bus. (Joseph leaves earlier) I’ve just finished washing the dishes, sweeping the floor, fixing the bed, and picking up Kean’s toys. Later I’ll clean the bathroom, vacuum the carpet, and mop the floor with Lysol. Since it’s already the end of the week, groceries have to be bought again. I’ve jotted down the supplies that needed to be replenished: toiletries, meat, vegetables, breakfast food, TV snacks, and other things. Kean needs a new toothbrush too. In 48 hours, it’s going to be Sunday again. It’s the first Sunday of the month so I have to prepare Joseph’s barong for the service. I reviewed my schedule for the coming week; wrote down itineraries, deadlines and tasks at home… Don’t forget: TAKE DOWN THE CHRISTMAS TREE!

As I took my shower, I pondered about another deadline-filled week ahead. I don’t want to count my chickens before the eggs hatch but one has to make at least a mental note of the cash flow that she has. So far God has been providing me with good projects and in fact I got a call from another events company and asked me to be one of their freelance writers. And if things push through I might have another TV show in a few months.

My year is surely starting out fine in the financial department but of course it doesn’t come without a cost. Lately I’ve been having frequent backaches, probably from the longs hours sitting in front of my PC. I’ve been losing a lot of sleep lately, especially when deadlines coincide. But I have learned not to complain anymore for I know this is just a normal phase in a freelancer’s life. The next wave would surely draw a blank calendar. I’m just milking it for all its worth.

And then it hit me – What is it really worth for?

I know I’m not the only one practically breaking my back here. In fact, I know that taking a few minutes off your schedule to read this blog right now is an effort for you so I promise not to waste your time with my domestic drama. We are all indeed BUSY! But what are we really grinding ourselves for? Sure, we’ve all got bills to pay and they all come like clockwork. Some of us have babies coming. Some already have new babies to rear. Some have children to send to school. Some even have their parents and siblings to support. Some are saving up for a car… a house… a trip… a wedding… while some are merely living from paycheck to paycheck.

We are even working doubly hard now because economic forecasts have been dismal. We have come to value (or forced to become conscious about) our work because we fear that we might lose them. Companies are either closing or sizing down. OFWs are coming back home jobless. People cannot even fully rely on their Life Insurances anymore. Suddenly we realize that the life jacket that we have bought doesn’t inflate at all. And that’s the irony of these things. When you’re in the plane, you don’t exactly ask the flight stewardess to let you “try” the life jacket under your seat. In fact, it’s against the law to tamper with it in the absence of an emergency. So basically, you’ll never know it’s defective until you’re face to face with death.

Praying for financial provision is probably always the number one prayer request. Right Ate Eunice? :-) There’s nothing exactly wrong about it but I was just thinking when would we ever stop praying for it? Personally, I’ve come to the point where I kind of feel ashamed already for always asking God for money. But here we are even more worried now how to sustain our domestic lives. When would we be able to rise above these mundane domestic worries and start working for the greater good? Is it silly to ask God for an overflow of cash so that we could start focusing on what He wants us to do instead?

Most of us miss our Bible studies, even miss going to church, forget to do daily devotionals, cut our praying time short, and refuse to take part in ministries and church projects because we claim that we are busy. We have work to do. Our schedule’s tight. We don’t have time. It seems that we can’t afford to fail our bosses but it’s okay to put God on hold. But God understands that we have mouths to feed, right? Hmmm…

I realized that the reason why we’re still in the rat race is because we refuse to simply get out of the race and be more than just rats. Look at that mouse in Ratatouille. He knew that there was more to life than just being in the sewers, scampering for food and worrying about humans finding and killing them. In the same way, God has spoken to us many times through the Word that we can be more, do more for Him, work for what’s really more important – Be part of the Great Commission!

“Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshiped him: but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen” – MATTHEW 28:16-20

As I went about my house chores and writing assignments I found myself humming like Belle in Beauty and the Beast “There must be more to this domestic life…” Even the mermaid Ariel wondered about getting legs to be part of THAT world. Aren’t we all tired of doing the same thing over and over again? Aren’t we all tired of thinking about paying our bills and meeting our deadlines? And then we say, Lord I want to be free of these! Can the bills just pay for themselves? Can I stop being a slave for work?

Until we realize that there’s more to life than just surviving and thriving for ourselves, God will never fill us to the brim and free us of these daily demands. Let’s ask ourselves. What are we really breaking our backs for? Of course, we want to provide for our families and we want to be good employees for after all that’s part of our Christian testimony but God is telling us that He can actually take care of all these things for us if we just LET HIM and if we just LIVE FOR HIM.

We’re all familiar with Matthew 6:33 "… seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." But how many of us are really doing it?

I don’t know about you but I am already tired of having to worry about how to pay for next month’s rent. I know God doesn’t want us to be obsessed with just merely “living”… we have to live for more… break our backs for something bigger… otherwise we’d all still be rats when we can be a Chef in France… we’d still be swimming with fins when we could be dancing with feet… I know God created us to be more than just what we think we are right now. We’re more than just burping that baby and getting that promotion. God is happy that we are able to do these things well but more than that He created us for his purpose. Once we are really working for His purpose that’s when God will start filling us to the brim. In that case, Ate Eunice won’t have to include a lot of financial prayer requests in our Sunday bulletin anymore. And soon, the bigger problem for us would not be about the economic recession but the next person’s salvation.