"Yeah, but when can I quit?"

In the past this question might have come at me from my 10 year old who suddenly doesn't want to participate in tap or it might have come from my 5 year old who hates soccer practice.  The problem is that we aren't quitters.  We don't quit. If we signup for soccer, then we finish the season. If we join a club, then we support our teams and go. Unfortunately, this isn't always the best policy for my children.

While my boys were young, we focused on teaching them the importance of integrity and working hard so quitting was not an option. Now that the've learned the importance of working hard and completing tasks, we're starting to explore the idea that we can't do it all.  Unlike God, we cannot do everything.

While modeling the importance of dedication and integrity with activities and relationships, we've failed to model the importance of self-care and slowing down.  If you can't do something well, then quit, has not been the model for my home. 

Yet, sometimes we need to stop.  Sometimes, we realize that in our pursuit of knowledge, friends, prestige, or even God, we've done too much.  God calls us, we don't initiate the call. He loves us and wants us to respond to His love, but that doesn't mean running ourselves rampant in the process. I struggle with wanting to do more. I want to change the world, spread the gospel, feed the sick; but I often fall short. Instead of doing all things, sometimes we should just do one thing. In this new year, as you've already set your goals, consider this: what did you decide to stop? What did God tell you to stop? 

Stopping isn't always quitting.  Sometimes it's exactly what God wants us to do.