When the Saints

by Sara Groves:

lord i have a heavy burden of all i've seen and know
it's more than i can handle
but your word is burning like a fire shut up in my bones
and i can’t let it go

and when i'm weary and overwrought
with so many battles left unfought

i think of paul and silas in the prison yard
i hear their song of freedom rising to the stars

and when the Saints go marching in
i want to be one of them

lord it's all that i can't carry and cannot leave behind
it all can overwhelm me
but when i think of all who've gone before and lived a faithful life
their courage compels me

and when i'm weary and overwrought
with so many battles left unfought

i think of paul and silas in the prison yard
i hear their song of freedom rising to the stars
i see the shepherd moses in the pharaohs court
i hear his call for freedom for the people of the Lord

chorus x2

i see the long quiet walk along the underground railroad
i see the slave awakening to the value of her soul
i see the young missionary and the angry spear
i see his family returning with no trace of fear
i see the long hard shadows of calcutta nights
i see the sister standing by the dying man’s side
i see the young girl huddled on the brothel floor
i see the man with a passion come kicking down that door

i see the man of sorrow and his long troubled road
i see the world on his shoulders and my easy load

chorus

Quick Connection

Well, currently my cat is a little on edge and obsessed with the ceiling. A little whimpering on her part. And you know what? There's nothing she needs to fear or be consumed with. She sometimes gets obsessed with it, though.

Life application. We don't need to always need to be bothered about things we don't need to be bothered by :)

Hush, Selah, just relax...

Perfectionism

Here are some tidbits from the article "Unhappy? Self-Critical? Maybe You’re Just a Perfectionist":

but also suggest that perfectionism is a valuable lens through which to understand a variety of seemingly unrelated mental difficulties, from depression to compulsive behavior to addiction.

I can see how perfectionism could correlate with at least the latter two of these, and possibly the first, if the person is holding themselves up against an "ideal" self...

Unlike people given psychiatric labels, however, perfectionists neither battle stigma nor consider themselves to be somehow dysfunctional.

I would think they might battle a little stigma if they are gossipped about as being 'anal', but perfectionism would definitely seem to carry less stigma than the other mental difficulties mentioned in the first quote.

Ms. Provost said those in her program at U.C. Davis often displayed symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder — another risk for perfectionists. They couldn’t bear a messy desk. They found it nearly impossible to leave a job half-done, to do the next day. Some put in ludicrously long hours redoing tasks, chasing an ideal only they could see.

I used to have certain obsessions, like with cleaning (when I lived at home and had to do certain chores, I would be too thorough). And now I procrastinate in dealing with a certain type of task because of a certain irrational fear(s). Or are those irrational fears in combination with laziness? Procrastination and dread aren't good solutions, though; staying on top of this task and just dealing with it would be a much better solution.

The British have a saying that encourages people to show their skills while mocking the universal fear of failure: Do your worst.

If you can’t tolerate your worst, at least once in a while, how true to yourself can you be?

Doing your worst is certainly not a Biblical concept, but, I suppose it would be good for people to deal with their failures, shortcomings, and missing the mark in a way that doesn't amount to devastation or depression. But isn't it nice to know that we don't have to perfect our way into heaven.

In the hymn "Dear Lord and Father of Mankind" are the lines:

Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,

And from the song "In Christ Alone":

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease

At some point, the strivings will cease...and even if they don't in this life, God is able to provide the strength, the "dews of quietness" and rest as we work.

And even if there is striving in heaven, all will be good, and the dreadfulness of seemingly unbearable tasks will no longer be present.

Distracted Martha

"But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, 'Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.' But the Lord answered and said to her, 'Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her." (in vs. 39, it says Mary "was seated at the Lord's feet, listening to His word.")

-Luke 10:40-42

Humility & Anxiety-Casting

"Anxieties: To Be Cast Not Carried"

By John Piper

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/
1993/843_Anxieties_To_Be_Cast_Not_Carried/