An Anchor

Have you ever been so overcommitted or so overwhelmed that you became ineffective at pretty much everything? Not just unable to give your best at home or at your work or to yourself . . . you can't even seem to get a decent meal or find your car keys?

I've been there often enough in my life to know my three most frequently traveled paths to chaos. The first is my identity with "Ado Annie" from "Oklahoma." You know, "I'm just the girl that can't say no." Then there is circumstance, whether one big crisis or the snowball effect. And finally, desire: wanting more than I can handle and often wanting it now.

Whatever the cause, I know the result - everything important to me suffers: my physical and mental health, my work and my relationships, especially my relationship with God.

My life was in just such a state of chaos a few years ago that, when I walked into a Bible study and was told we would have to memorize a verse a week to get the most out of the study, I almost burst into tears on the spot. I managed to wait until I got home to cry, and once I started I didn't stop until I opened my Bible to the verse for the week: John 15:5.

Since that night, that verse, God's Word to me through His Son, has been an anchor of my faith. A reminder that the relationship I too often allow to be pushed from first place in my life is what gives me life. Without it, bearing the fruit God has planned for me is impossible.

— Judy Rudat

Courtesy of The Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist