Dependence and Responsibility

   It is easy in life to follow one of two paths. One, we act as if we are responsible for everything. We place the world on our own shoulders, taking on way too much because, "If I don't do it, it won't get one." Moms do this a lot. Partly it isn't our fault. There is way more to do then we could ever find the time for. So, we are constantly feeling either stressed and anxious about all we have to do, or, guilty about everything that we missed, forgot, or didn't have time for because, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DO IT ALL.  Of course, this isn't just moms. Lots of people feel this way. It is rational to feel this way. We live in a crazy, busy world and we Do Have to work and we Do Have to get things done and if we Don't make dinner, we Won't eat or if we Don't do the laundry, we Won't have clean clothes.
   The second path that some people take is a laissez-faire attitude about life. "Oh, it will get done" or "someone will take care of it".  This can also be couched in an attitude of piety, "God will provide" and I will just sit here on the couch and wait for that to happen. (People, God will throw you the life-preserver, but you still need to grab on.)  Kids usually think like this, or else adults who have never really stopped being kids in regard to responsibility.  In our "helicopter-parent world," these are the type of adults that we are dooming our children to become, unless we give them some responsibility and allow them to succeed or fail on their own—but that is another topic. 
   Neither of these paths is good, so where does that leave us? This is why I LOVE this quote from St. Augustine.   
 

 Total abandonment to God, relying completely and utterly upon Him, but, at the same time, still needing to work our hardest and do our best, that is the path we should take.  Working hard is good, and it needs to happen, all the while we must remember that we cannot do anything without God. The Bible says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Not, “I don’t have to do anything because of Christ” or “I can do everything myself.” We need to remember both components of the equation. Complete surrender to God with the acknowledgment that I cannot do this alone, it is too much, and then trying my darndest to do it anyway. 

  When I forget this and focus too much upon my own efforts, that is when things seem to go wrong and everything takes longer than it should. But when I put it all into God's hands and rely upon His help, it is amazing how much I can accomplish.