By Marilyn Turk

That feeling is starting to close in on me again. Just when I thought I was handling everything well, more “things” started vying for attention.

Do you ever feel that way? Do you feel like you have too many commitments?

Yes, I know how to say “no,” and I stepped away from some commitments a couple of years ago so I could breathe. But slowly, more moved in to take their place.

There’s a committee at church that begs you to attend, there’s a group you belong to that only meets once a month, but you must prepare something for the group, there’s the book club that meets at your house and you haven’t had time to read the book. And for writers, there’s always marketing of books, blog posts to create, social media to participate in, and strangely enough, books to write! But to maintain our health, we also need to exercise a certain amount of time per day. Heaven forbid we look in a mirror because we’ll be reminded it’s time to schedule an appt. with the hairdresser. And oh, my goodness, school is starting back, and our schedule will get even busier. And sometimes our family even wants to spend time with us.

What’s a person to do? Where is the balance?

Some of us are people pleasers and try to do everything others want us to do. Sometimes we think we can handle more than we realistically should. And some of us just need to set boundaries.

How do we prioritize?

• Pray—did I pray before I committed to all these things? I need to ask God to show me what He wants me to do. I also need to pray for God to help me manage my commitments without stress.
• First things first—look at the schedule. What’s due first? Have I overbooked so that I don’t have time for other, more important things that should come first?
• Are there groups I belong to that I don’t really need to belong to? For instance, our church has a women’s Bible study group that starts back up in a couple of weeks. I really want to go, but it requires attendance every Thursday morning, not to mention any homework associated with it. The Bible study is a worthy activity—it’s an opportunity to grow in faith and fellowship with other spiritual sisters, but do I really have time for it?
• Are there places where I can delegate or ask for help and not do it all myself?
• When I hear how “they” say I should spend my time, I don’t have to listen. What works for some people doesn’t work for everyone, and God’s will for my life is not the same as anyone else’s.
• Am I using my time wisely? Do I spend my available writing time writing or doing something else? Am I being distracted by unimportant things? Remember Martha? In Luke 10:41, Jesus told her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things.” He went on to say her sister Mary had chosen the better thing.

Lord, please help me choose the better thing.