Last week, I had to complete one of those health quotient questionnaires for our insurance, and I failed.
Okay, I don’t know what “failing” is, but I didn’t do very well. You see, it asked me many questions about how I’ve been feeling this past year (Emotional? Yes. Tired? Yes. Overwhelmed? Yes and yes!)
The one question it didn’t ask though was the most important.
Have you had a baby in the past year?
Hello! Of course I’m overwhelmed. And tired. And occasionally covered in icky substances. It’s just part of this thing I’m doing…you know, motherhood?
So, I was laughing about it with my dear friend Mrs. Ginger, and she shared something with me that I just have to pass along because I’m guessing you feel overwhelmed sometimes, too….
The Clock That Had a Nervous Breakdown
(FYI: my Googling efforts inform me that the below passage can be attributed to Chuck Swindoll…but don’t quote me. I found it here.)
In his sermon entitled “How to Worry” Ralph Phelps tells about the clock that had a nervous breakdown. This new clock was ticking away on the shelf two ticks to the second as any good, self-respecting clock should tick when it began to think about how many times it was going to have to tick. “Two ticks to the second means 120 ticks per minute,” it mused. “That’s 7200 ticks per hour, 172,800 ticks per day, 1,209,600 per week for 52 weeks, and a total of 62,899,200 per year.” Horrors! Straightway the clock had a nervous breakdown.
The clock was taken to a psychiatrist who patched up the mainspring as well as he could then asked, “Clock, what’s your trouble?” “Oh, doctor,” wailed the clock, “I have to tick so much. I have to tick two ticks a second and 120 ticks per minute and 7200 ticks per hour, and.” “Hold it,” the psychiatrist cut in, “How many ticks do you have to tick at a time?” “Oh, I just have to tick one tick at a time,” was the reply. “Then let me make a suggestion,” replied the doctor. “You go home and try ticking one tick at a time. Don’t even think about the next tick until it’s time. Just tick one tick at a time. That you can do.”
Faith is ticking one tick at a time. Knowing that God will give us strength for the next tick.
Today, let me suggest the same to you…Tick one tick at time….even if what you’re ticking is things off of your to-do list!