Too Many Big Rocks

Last updated on: December 6, 2011 at 8:52 am by Amy Julia Becker

Too Many Big Rocks 2011-12-06T08:52:31-05:00 Amy Julia Becker

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Three big rocks

Years ago, I watched a camp counselor illustrate a point. He held an empty jar, and first he filled it with pebbles. Then he tried to add three big rocks. They didn’t fit. He poured out the pebbles. The three big rocks fit now, and the pebbles filled in the space around them. He was even able to add some cups of sand and then some water. That jar was packed tight, but it all fit. As long as the big rocks went in first.

The point, of course, was to demonstrate the importance of recognizing the most significant aspects of our lives—the “big rocks”—and finding places for them in our daily lives first. Everything else could, and would, flow around them.

A few weeks ago, I noticed that a number of my “big rocks” were out of place. I hadn’t been spending intentional time with God—very little prayer, very rare times reading the Bible, a journal that hadn’t been opened in a month. I hadn’t been exercising. And our family was fraying around the edges. Without going into all the details, I’ll share that I said to Peter, “I feel like my best friend doesn’t like me very much right now.” Something had to change.

So I took a look at my big rocks—God, self, family, writing. And when I thought and thought and thought about how to fit them all into the jar, so to speak, I realized that they don’t all fit. I have to make some choices.

And so I’ve decided that I need to write less, at least for a time. It is the beginning of Advent, a time of preparation for the celebration of Jesus’ birth. And I need to do some preparatory soul work. In order to be a kind and healthy person, I need to exercise regularly and get enough sleep. Which leaves family and writing, and as difficult as it is for me, the choice is still an obvious one.

So I’m planning to take a hiatus from daily blogging for the next two months. I’m still planning to post once a week here—it might be a family update or a few photos or some thoughts I’m having about a news piece or from my Advent reading. And I’ll post if there are other articles of interest or interviews about A Good and Perfect Gift or upcoming events. But the pace will slow considerably. I’ll get those big rocks back in place, I hope and pray, and we’ll celebrate Christmas, and then I’ll take a little time to decide what happens next.

Come February, I might be back up and running. Or I might be slowing down for longer still. I’ll keep you posted.

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Advent Reflections

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