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Welcome to the Determined to Dance podcast with your host, Jennifer Hallmark.
Today’s episode, “Procrastination and a Change of Plans” focuses on how a loss of hope can stop our dancing to the point of us leaving the ballroom.
Are you ready? The world would have us march to its chaotic beat but God invites us to dance in His will and His way. Let’s take a moment to be energized, refreshed, and motivated to face the day, one spin and twirl at a time.
Show Notes: Procrastination and a Change of Plans
My plan had changed. When I drew up my itinerary for the procrastination series, I wanted to follow last week’s episode, Five Ways to Overcome Procrastination and the Fear of Failure, with my thoughts on the fear of success. Makes total sense.
As an organized planner. And planners plan.
Except when…
They can’t. There’s nothing physically wrong with me. Nope, but I’m still frozen. Knocked senseless by something I can’t quite see. Useless in the last few days of writing. Unable to dance with God. I’m trudging knee-deep in the Swamp of Sadness. (Cue the Never-Ending Story references)
If you’re not familiar with this book/movie, the Swamp of Sadness basically swallows Artax the horse. And sometimes, like Artax, I lose hope. I don’t mean to. My life’s not that bad.
But my writing journey has been turned on its ear in a hundred different ways and I’m struggling. I’ve encouraged myself until I’m tired of hearing my own voice.
Why? I don’t like change. I want life to be one hilltop experience after another. I think we all do. No valleys. No pits. No Swamp of Sadness.
I want lots of sunshiny days. As I write this, it’s raining outside and inside.
You get me. Maybe there are one or maybe two areas in your life that won’t line up with your expectations. It’s not what you pictured. Dreamed about. Spoke life into.
Hoped for.
Those endless nagging whispers grow louder. Give it up. It’s not really for you. You’ve done something wrong or you wouldn’t be here.
Surrounded by the unfamiliar. Feeling hopeless.
Several options appear:
- I can give up.
- I can stay but wallow in self-pity.
- I can struggle to move forward.
- I can surrender.
Wait. Isn’t surrendering and giving up the same? Not to me. When I give up, I’m saying I can’t make this work. My efforts aren’t enough. Why should I keep trying? Lots of “I’s” in there, huh?
When I surrender, it’s not to something but to Someone. My God who is big enough to straighten it all out. Give me a glimpse of the bigger picture. And a glimpse of hope.
Along with His all-encompassing, overwhelming, reckless love for me. Even when I’ve lost hope. Lost my way. Lost any forward motion.
Today, I choose to surrender.
- My plans-His are greater and better for me though I can’t see it now.
- My way-I can easily be directionally challenged when driving. What makes me think I can figure out my way in life without Him?
- My dreams-This is the hardest of all. My dreams for my family, my job, my ministry, and my life. I need to place them all in God’s hands.
Losing control is so unbelievably hard for a planner. Not that I really ever had control but in my mind, the illusion is better than the loss. I need to stop and mourn for a moment, then place my plans, way, and dreams back where they belong. My life verse comes to mind:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
God not only gives me hope but wants me to prosper and offers a future. His future. But I am so often short-sighted. Surely, I’m not the only one.
My friend, where have you lost hope? Your situation might be much more dire than a job. It might be your life. Proverbs 13 says that hope deferred makes the heart sick. It truly does. I’m glad that Solomon, the writer king, didn’t stop there. He goes on to say that a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. A fresh breath of air.
I see only one solution to my dilemma of lost hope.
Remembrance.
If I’m honest, this isn’t the first time I’ve been down. I’ve trudged through this swamp before. A few times. Okay. Maybe lots of times.
Now, however, is the moment to remember the goodness of God. Pause with me and make your own list.
I remember:
- The time God opened a door for me to go to a big writing conference, all expenses paid.
- The way he placed my novel, “Jessie’s Hope,” in the hands of the right publisher.
- The fact that God loves my family and wants to see them prosper even more than I do.
- So many of my dreams have already come true.
The ice surrounding me is thawing. I ask God what to do to move ahead. He points at a novel that needs to have one more edit and a proposal written. I should have already done this but I’ve lost hope that it will ever sell. How crazy is that? God placed the story in my heart and when the time is right, I’ll know what to do with it. For now, I have just enough light for the next step. It’s up to me to take it. Are you ready to move out of the Swamp of Sadness?
Let’s pray: Father God, we come to you today, our hearts heavy from the long journey. We lay our plans, our way, and our dreams at Your feet. You are the only one who knows the past, the present, and the future. Our future. We don’t want to be stalled anymore, in limbo, because we’ve lost hope. Restore our hope and joy with Your great and mighty love. Open our eyes to see that love in tangible ways this week. We believe. Help our unbelief. We want to dance again. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Changed plans don’t have to derail us anymore. God is on our side. Next week, we’ll try once again to look at the fear of success and how scary it can be as it slows our progress.
Until then, stay determined to dance.
Future topics include:
Procrastination.
Reflection and Prayer.
What will people think?
Continue to dance.
Links mentioned in this episode:
My debut novel, Jessie’s Hope
Remember: Procrastination and a Change of Plans
Video of the week:
I absolutely love music and each week, I’d like to share a relevant song we can enjoy together.
