Setting priorities...

I made a decision last night that was very hard for me, and I know some people are going to be disappointed in me, but I also know it's the right thing to do, for my family and for myself. And now I feel free. A little sad, because I hate to quit anything, but mostly just hopeful and excited that now I'll be able to really devote myself to the things that are important to me: to my devotions and prayer time, to my husband and kids, to my school work, to the things in church I enjoy like children's ministry and Dare to Care. What caused me to make this decision is that I finally realized that I am stretched too thin, overly stressed out, and as a result I'm not able to give my full potential to anything. Something always ends up neglected, and all too often it's been my family. I can't go on like that, it's not right. It's not fair to any of the people who count on me either if I'm not trying my best for them because I'm too bogged down with other obligations and activities. I have come to a point where I realize that I need to set priorities. I've always tried to put God first and family second (although I have to admit that's sometimes hard) and everything else sort of competed for third, fourth, one hundredth, etc. Now I know I need to prioritize that other stuff too. School, for now, needs to come third. I am so close to graduation, I can't do anything to mess that up. Children's ministries/Dare to Care needs to come next because those are the areas that I really feel are my "heartbeat," things that not only do I enjoy doing but that help me to grow. Because I still have so much spiritual growth and maturing to do. As for other things in my life, some of them need to just go. I don't know how other people do it. I look at some of the other women in church who have families, jobs, big houses to clean (I struggle with a townhouse apartment!), and so many other responsibilities and it makes me feel like a total slacker. But I learned long time ago that comparing myself to others is definitely not a good thing. So I'm not going to do it any more. Someone who is good at this position I'm leaving can come and take it over. Someone who has a passion for it, someone who has the time to do it properly, someone who enjoys it. I will pray for that person. That's all I can do.