Recently a few people have said, “I don’t know how you do it every day!”

Truth be told, I don’t do it every day.

The “it” they are referring to is the schedule I (attempt) to keep.

Yes, I love block scheduling, planners, to-do lists, task apps, visual reminders, ……

I schedule out the homework I am going to do; the chores that need to get done; the tasks I need to do for Christian Military Wives Fellowship; the things I’d like to get done for the “Lici Joy Project”; the things I should be getting done for Stonecroft Military Ministry; I even schedule time to spend with my husband.

But…..that doesn’t mean I am able to stick to my schedule.

Reality is…..I have had two brain surgeries, have had my head banged/smashed/knocked too many times to count, my spinal cord was at one time attached to my bone and was bent out of shape, for my entire life I have had (and will have) a chiari malformation, my spinal fluid levels are sometimes a bit wonky, my neurological system goes on the fritz if I get tired, I fall over quite frequently, my husband often has to help me up the stairs (or I crawl up them, or I crawl as he helps me), some days I can’t even take my clothes off to go to bed, I forget to brush my teeth if I don’t have the toothpaste sitting on the counter (and then I still forget), I can take two steps and forget what I was going to do, I say things and have no recollection of saying them, or do things and have no recollection of doing them, I stutter when I’m tired, I often feel like I can’t put together a coherent thought, I constantly have headaches (all sorts….sometime ask me to describe them and you may be surprised at the ways I have found to differentiate them), and the only thing that gets me out of bed in the morning is the need to let the fur-babies out of their kennel.

Yesterday I got the toothpaste out and put it on the counter.

Then, I brushed my hair and put it up into some sort of messy top-knot.

By the time I was done with that I thought of something I needed to do and forgot to brush my teeth.

When I went to bed I realized the toothpaste was still sitting on the counter….an obvious sign that I forgot to do something.

So yes, I LOVE to-do lists, visual reminders, planners, task apps, and lots of sleep.

Yes, most days I cannot leave the house because that will take all my energy. (No, I am not a shut-in….at least I try to make it to Bible study and Chapel 😉

Yes, I love visitors!

Yes, I have a long list of things I want to accomplish…..

But, I have learned that I cannot accomplish everything on my list(s).

And that is okay.

I do my best and let God take care of the rest.

A good reminder that helps me not feel guilty that I can’t “do it all” comes from Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

Why is that an encouragement?

Because….it reminds me that I can do it ALL in His name (even if that means I’m resting on the couch listening to Scripture because I’m too exhausted to sit up and read)…..I can give thanks in ALL things (even if that is when I’m crawling up the stairs to go to bed…..at least I have stairs in a house in a nice place and a bed to crawl into and a husband who loves me and a God who accepts me even though my body is failing.)

Reality check….I can’t do it all, don’t do it all and am thankful for the days that I remember to brush my teeth 🙂

Be encouraged, for God is an awesome God and worthy to be praised!

~Lici Joy, the coffee-guzzling-truth-telling-joy-finding-polka-dot-fanatic