2 Corinthians 8:12-15, The Message

Once the commitment is clear, you do what you can, not what you can't. The heart regulates the hands. This isn't so others can take it easy while you sweat it out. No, you're shoulder to shoulder with them all the way, your surplus matching their deficit, their surplus matching your deficit. In the end you come out even. As it is written,
Nothing left over to the one with the most,
Nothing lacking to the one with the least.

I like the part that I put in italics because it reminds me that I can't do what I can't do. You see, I sometimes wonder if I have an attention disorder because of my ever-changing hobbies and projects. In the last two months I have made a quilt, homemade jam, a dress form mannequin, canned my own tomato sauce, sketched an idea for a painting, read two books, potted plants, and continued to work on refinishing furniture. Once I pick something up, I get an idea for something new. While this might seem all well and good, it results in a lot of unfinished projects.

All that aside, these verses (which we talked about at small group tonight...and it was awesome) help me remember to take it easy. Not just with crafts and projects, but with my day-to-day spiritual hopes and goals, with my desire to be more generous with my time and intellect. I can't do what I can't do. If I don't have the money, I can't give it away. If I don't have the truth, I can't speak it. If I don't have the time, I can't be there. We don't have to "be all things" all the time. Fortunately for us, we're a part of the Body of Christ and whatever job/need/words we can't fulfill or give, someone else can for us. Your surplus matching their deficit, their surplus matching your deficit. In the end you come out even.