On stones. (The schedule tune-up we all need.)

Every single year I read through Exodus 18 in late January or early February and every single time it’s a schedule tune-up.  Once a year, God inevitably puts His finger on some aspect of my life and says, “What you are doing is not good.”

Here’s the scene: Moses was sitting, from morning until evening, every single day, listening to the disputes of people and giving direction, wisdom–leading them.  His father-in-law Jethro comes to visit, sees all this, and says, “What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you.  You are not able to do it alone.”

What you are doing is not good.

Hmm.  I can only imagine how Jethro expanded on this: Not only is it not good for yourself, because you will get worn out, but it is not good for the people either, because the leadership, wisdom, and advice that they will receive from you will be less than stellar–it will be tired, irritated, annoyed advice and leadership rather than rested, well-thought-through advice and leadership.  Not only that, but perhaps (total speculation here), Moses’ father-in-law looked down with the eyes of a grandpa and a father and looked at his daughter Zipporah and at his little grandbabies and was a little protective, realizing that these Israelites were getting 90% of Moses’ time, rather than his family. Again, it says that nowhere in the Bible, but it’s interesting that it’s Grandpa who steps in and says, “Enough is enough!  You’re doing too much. Get out of there and spend some time with your babies and wife!”

All of this reminds me of the book of Nehemiah. In Chapter 3 Nehemiah assembled the team to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. It took a team of many people it took to pick up those stones and assemble the various portions. Each person had their our own stones to pick up, carry, and stack on the wall, and they each needed to shoulder their own stones.  As leaders, people often come to us with their ideas for ministry and activities (hinting that we should do it). I remember Joel once saying that when people do that he would wag his finger playfully and say, “Are you trying to give me your stones?  It sure feels like you’re trying to give me your stones… I think those are your stones!”

So true. Some of us have this tendency, as we’re picking up our own stones, to look around and see all the heaps of stones around us and feel so overwhelmed that we just start picking up everybody else’s stones too!  Heck, there are stones to pick up I might as well pick them up!  I remember a few years ago I had this vision of myself, with Dutch hanging on my back, Heidi in a front pack crying, holding my husband’s sack lunch in one hand, my Bible teaching notes in the other, my laptop tucked between my knees, a laundry basket balanced on my head, picking up toys off the ground with my toes, and then trying to figure out how in the world I was going to pick up all these stinkin’ stones that are laying around!  Then God’s Word walks up beside me, and taps me on the shoulder:

“Hey, guess what? Those aren’t your stones.”

So as with any adjustment period, it takes a while to figure things out, make adjustments, and discern what stays and what goes.  I’m sorting through my stones and asking God exactly which ones He’d like me to stack on the wall, and which ones He wants me to leave on the ground, because they’re someone else’s stones to stack.

And now, it is 7am and the house is awake and alive with energy and little hungry bellies.

It’s time to stack some stones.

Thanks for reading.