When It’s Time to Stop Eating Frogs

One of my favorite sayings is Eat The Frog! For anyone who has no idea why on earth I would eat a frog, it essentially just means to do the difficult things first. The things you don’t want to do. So, you know that doctor’s appointment you’ve been putting off? Or those reels you need to get up on Social Media? Do those before you do anything else and the rest of the day will be brighter! I am actually quite good at eating frogs. One might say…too good.

I was on one of my daily walks earlier this month, feeling frustrated as usual because there is always too much to do and not enough time to do it in and no matter how many times I rework my schedule, my to-do lists, my priorities, etc., I can’t figure out a way to fit everything in that I feel like I need to be doing, let alone any actual writing (Seriously. I currently have three whiteboards up on my wall, all filled with to-do lists and attempts at schedules).

So, I was walking through the (finally) beautiful weather, my chest tight, my stomach churning, my shoulders stiff, not able to revel in the sunshine like I normally do because I wanted someone (namely, God) to just tell me how to fit it all in already! Well, He didn’t. But all of the sudden, I heard resoundingly in my head: Stop Striving. Start Living.

Well. Something about that instantly softened everything in me and made me take a deep breath as pressure released. And then everything tightened right back up as my logical brain (or my dear inner critic, Chadwick) started arguing. That can’t possibly be from God. Striving is good! Necessary! Anything else is laziness. How many times does Paul tell us in the Bible to fight the good fight? To not grow weary?

And yet. Does the Bible also not say to Be Still? To find rest? To find joy? Is there such a thing as too much striving? After all, how much can it actually glorify God if I’m not actually enjoying the life He’s given me? If I am so intent on building platform and working towards getting published that I don’t have time to do what He’s told me to and actually write? Because I enjoy writing. Therefore, writing must be last. Therefore, writing never actually makes it to the top of the list. Because there is always another frog to eat first.

But…what if…just for once, I set those frogs to the side and had some dessert? What if I let myself write? And, yes, even edit? To immerse myself in the story worlds that I thought I would when I first started writing full time? What if…there’s balance? If I am always striving, then how can I also follow the commandment to rest and be still? If I am always eating frogs, how can I follow the call inside me to write the stories that are supposed to bring hope?

So, after much struggle, I made a very difficult decision. I decided to try living. I told myself that every day for one week, I would get up and I would write and/or edit to my heart’s content BEFORE eating any frogs. And you know what? The next week, I woke up smiling. And I sat down and I worked on story for hours upon hours. And I felt refreshed. Happy. Joyful. Even ready to turn around and work on a few frogs that evening. And they didn’t even taste as froggish as usual. And, to top it off, God went ahead and sent me another four-leaf clover.

So, I guess, yet again, God is trying to teach me balance in life (I feel like it’s a lesson He has had to bring back over and over again). And that, while working hard can be good, when you start striving too much, you stop living the life He’s given you. There’s glory in balance. In resting as well as striving. In pursuing the good, fun things as well as the hard. In patience as well as perseverance. You need both to live a complete life.

And yes, I fully admit that because I’m human, I’ve tried very hard to pick up that platterful of frogs many times in the last few weeks and Daniel or other friends have had to remind me to set it back down. At least for now.