Other people have no trouble doing this. They look for any reason to drop the housework, the yard work, turn off the computer, and head to some seemingly mindless and fun adventure! And they are laughing all the way!
We just reviewed our personality types last week at a staff retreat. Couldn’t the tests I’ve taken throughout the years just once show a different result? But alas, they always confirm what my family knows too well: I’m responsible. I pick up cups and plates at someone else’s party. I watch the clock at events to ensure we’re on schedule. I’m the one who wants to make sure we get all the work done first — before any fun begins.
Only the work is never done. When I finish one task, another sits waiting for me. There’s always something more to do.
Every strength has a good and bad side. The good side of being responsible is, well, I’m responsible. If I say I’m going to do something, you can be fairly sure it will get done.
The bad side of being responsible is feeling like the weight of the world rests on me. It makes me worry about tasks on my plate — and even those that aren’t mine, but someone else’s. It’s hard to relax. I want to live in a peacable kingdom. And my heart can get resentful when others aren’t carrying the weight of the world with me. How do they have so much time to not work?!
The reality? Not every assignment is mine to do. To assume responsibility for more than what is mine speaks of a lack of trust … in myself, in God or in others.
I’m pretty sure this all-work-no-play routine wasn’t the life I was intended to live; carrying the weight of burdens that aren’t mine to carry. Sometimes I have a difficult time finding the balance.
Sometimes having joy means serving others or working on a project with them. Sometimes it means just hanging out, enjoying dinner with them, celebrating at a party, playing with someone’s kids. These fun times do not hold empty significance. Rather they are filled with value, showing love in a different way.
We are love when we work, but also when we have fun.
This is a truth I need to apply to my life more often. My idea of loving others is often shown by serving them. But some people feel loved when I simply spend time with them. And for some, that time needs to be a little less task-oriented and a lot more laughter-filled.
So a challenge for myself is to be intentional about having fun. This translates to initiating get togethers with others, to say yes when invited, to occasionally stretch outside my comfort zone. And… to try to relax about the details of other people’s work load.
As Russell always tells me... "It will be there in the morning". Work will always be there — but the people might not be.