Capacity

Back in College Station, when I was engaged in the heights of academic mediocrity, there were many nights that I chose to extend my “learning” by pulling all-nighters, especially prior to midterm or final exams.  After college, in the Air Force, within a year of becoming a believer, I was leading or participating in seven Bible studies a week.  There were many all-nighters and short nights created by 2 AM report times to the flight line.  After graduation from pilot training, I went to San Antonio to learn to teach people to fly.  While there I was involved in two or three Bible studies a week again punctuated by all-nighters as I studied both the Bible and the dash one (dash one is the aircraft systems manual).

Fast forward 10 years and while in seminary for the four years I averaged about 4 hours of sleep a night, and that was punctuated by some more all-nighters, I was working part time 30 -40 hours a week, coaching my sons’ soccer teams, and leading worship at our church.  I was beginning to notice that it was taking longer to recover from the all-nighters.

Today all-nighters are few and far between.  They still happen.  But now it takes about a week to recover.

The point of this?  When we are younger, we can do more.  Duh, right.  When we are older we do not have the same capacity.  But we know more.  We can make a more significant impact with our lives with the experience through which the Lord has led us.  The problem becomes that our diminishing capacity makes it imperative that we are more focused in the use of the knowledge, skills, and experience with which the Lord has equipped us.  Our impact is directly proportional to how effectively we have narrowed our focus to apply the way God has designed us.  Ephesians 2:10 and Psalm 139:13 – 16, tell us that all we have been through and are going through in our life is for a purpose.  In order to have the greatest impact in our lives, we need to find that purpose.

How?  Stay tuned.