Tip of My Iceberg

Was it too much? I was afraid it was.

After all the hacking and whacking of our unsightly hedge, Wednesday was the day of reckoning. The day we’d find out if it really was too much yard waste in front of our house. More than the sanitation workers could–or were willing–to handle.

I was out early Wednesday, looking at our mass of branches, trying to convince myself that it really wasn’t as much as it looked like. It wasn’t working. I was beginning to channel my Debbie Downer mode, wondering what we were going to say to the HOA if the pile of green wasn’t gone.

Shortly after 7 a.m. I heard the snarfling of a truck. John and I walked outside, thinking that offering our help might make a difference. The two men working the truck, Randy and Frisner, paused as they looked at our yard. The branches stretched the entire length of our lot. Plus bags. Plus three large bins of branches. The two men looked at each other–and got to work.

We pitched in. I threw bundles in the hopper and watched in amazement as it chewed through huge amounts of debris.

Seven minutes and it was done.

I shook Randy and Frisner’s hands, thanking them for doing such a phenomenal  job. Going above and beyond what was expected. I even called their supervisor to tell her what an outstanding job they’d done.

It wasn’t too much for them.

Too much. What exactly does that mean?

It’s something I think about. A lot. Being too much. Too loud. Too wordy. Too perky. Too needy. Too emotional. Too know-it-all. Too worried. Too fearful.

Those branches strewn all over our front yard made me think of the times I lap over the lines of reasonable behavior and expectations. The times I expect more of others than they’re able to give. The times when my self-imposed expectations are too much for me to deal with.

Who’s willing to engage me when I feel like a mess strewn all over kingdom come? When my mess needs gathering? When my too much really is too much?

God does. He’s more than enough.

“And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.”           Ephesians 3:18-19 

Everyone lives with the heaviness of the expectations of others. With needs that feel insurmountable. Like our burdensome branches, those feelings and fears can overwhelm us.

I need Someone who is willing to step in and be my enough. My sufficiency. Someone who won’t be overwhelmed by the debris of my life.

I’m not too much for Jesus. And He’s more than enough for me.