My daughter has had bunny for almost two months now … and bunny is beginning to need a nail trim.
Rabbits in the wild do not need nail trims because normal wear and tear of digging in the dirt keeps their nails worn down. But bunnies in comfortable cages, with comfortable bunny playpens don’t have as much opportunity to dig in dirt and hence wear down their nails as much. Therefore, they need a bunny nail trim.
My daughter and I were discussing how we should go about giving bunny a nail trim. I naturally assumed that since it is my daughter’s bunny then I would simply hold the bunny while she did the “hard” part of actually trimming the nails.
My daughter naturally assumed that since I’m the older and “more experienced” between us then she would hold bunny while I did the “hard” part of trimming the nails.
No matter who holds bunny … and who trims bunny’s nails … bunny is not going to like it.
Bunny is similar to a precocious toddler and wants his freedom to hop and play and explore.
I couldn’t help but think how this is just like things in our own life which sometimes need to be “trimmed back.” These things are not necessarily bad things. They might be very good things.
An example in my own life is that of serving others and helping others. I see an announcement on the screen at church that there is a need for Awana volunteers to listen to the little kids say their verses. My immediate “blink” reaction is: “I want to help. That would be fun.”
Or … the MOPS (Moms of Preschoolers) program which meets every other Tuesday morning needs volunteers to watch the children while the moms meet. My “blink” reaction: “I’ll help.”
Or … there is a need for volunteers to make pancakes for the Kids Easter Brunch on the Saturday morning before Easter. My response is: “I’ll help!”
Or … our church starts a brand-new program called “Blessed Beginnings” to celebrate and bless ladies who are recently engaged and about to be married, or ladies who are about to have a baby.
My response: “Oh I’ll help! That would be such a great way to encourage new moms and the younger ladies in our church! I would love to help!”
And bit by bit, I overextend myself.
Something which is a good thing in my life (aka: wanting to serve others and be a blessing to others) gets overextended.
And just like my daughter and I have to pick bunny up, hold bunny still, and trim bunny’s nails back … so also, God sometimes has to “pick us up” (so to speak), “hold us still” (in my own case, God literally put me on my back in bed with a chronic fatigue relapse), and “trim my service back.”
The desire to help and serve others is a really good thing. Just like Bunny’s nails are very good things. But when nails grow too long, they begin to curl under and can cause all kinds of pain and problems.
So also, when something in our life is not kept “trimmed back” it too can start to cause problems in our life. I can get so busy serving others that I no longer have time or energy to serve my own family (which is my primary responsibility God has given me). I can get so busy trying to help everyone else that I’m no longer able to keep my own home clean … or the laundry done. I no longer have the strength to cook meals for my own family … because I’m so busy cooking meals for everyone else.
This was my own personal example. Everyone is different. For you, it is probably something completely different … something which, in and of itself is a really good thing. But when it gets overextended, it can start to cause problems.
When that good thing in our life becomes “overextended” … God has to “pick us up” … “hold us still” … and “trim that thing back” in our life.
Have you ever experienced God trimming something back in your life because it got overextended?
