Sitting Around Eating Bonbons

“So, Patrice, what do you do all day?” “Oh, I just sit around all day eating bonbons!”  HAHA! Since moving back to the states this has become the number one question people ask me. I can’t give them a quick or short answer. Should I show them everything on my to do list that I have completed or all that I still have to complete?  Should I get my calendar out and show all the people and places I have visited or are scheduled to visit?  Running a nonprofit and having responsibility for over 100 people (60 children, 50 caregivers and 23 employees) that live halfway across the world is inherently difficult. Not to mention the six hour time difference.

In Nigeria, I employed house help and a driver as part of the ministry to give people jobs. This allowed me to work all day on C.A.R.E. Africa and have my evenings and weekends free for family and Sabbath time. In the US I still get to focus on ministry during the day, but nights and weekends have turned into cleaning, cooking, shopping and driving kids around…… Welcome to America most of you would say!

Sabbath is how I refuel. Not the 30-minute rushed devotional in the morning but spending an entire day sitting at his feet and breathing him in. Without it, I am running on empty and when someone asks me “So, what do you do all day” – I get annoyed. This annoyance is a red flag that my heart is not in the right place and I need some time with the Lord.

This past Sunday I scheduled a Sabbath on my calendar because I knew it was the only way it would happen. During that time God showed me my need for approval from people in order to feel good about myself. When people ask me “What do you do all day?” it makes me feel judged -like I am not doing enough. I am not blogging enough, emailing enough, meeting enough people and not sharing the C.A.R.E. Africa story enough.  Otherwise, people would know what I do all day and wouldn’t have to ask. In my quiet time God gave me Galatians 1:10 “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

In one week it will be American Thanksgiving Day. Odds are you will be around some well-meaning family members who might ask “So, what do you do all day or when are you going to get married or find a better job “ – other people’s expectations as to what you should or should not be doing in life. Remember who you are and whose you are! You have already met the approval of the only One that matters!  So sit down, take a breath and enjoy this holiday. God loves you unconditionally always!