I'll bring the Doritos.

I know I've kinda beat some of you up with stories of achieving big goals, setting big goals, and improving yourself. Life may have you in some kind of a chokehold where you are thinking "I cannot achieve something big right now, it's all I can do to make it through the day with all this "stuff" of life." I don't know what your "stuff" is, but I'm here to tell you sometimes it's okay to just bring the Doritos.

Bring the Doritos? This is one of the truths I learned from a wonderful woman that will stick with me and liberate me all of my life. We were sitting at a women's ministry meeting planning a big weekend retreat for the women. If you've ever been in on something like this, you know it's a lot of work and at times overwhelming. We were volunteering for what snacks we would bring and this wise, wonderful woman of Jesus said "I'll bring the Doritos." She knew she'd have a crazy busy week and while she can make an amazing spread with the best of them, she also knew that sometimes doing less is absolutely best. I sat there in awe for a bit. You mean I don't have to always bring my best dessert that takes hours to just wow others? I can bring something that is as simple as going to the store? Or a simple dish to a potluck? Recognizing your limitations in a given season can provide you freedom and release you of self-imposed, unnecessary guilt.

I am not giving you license to get out of things that are good for you. You still need to engage in exercise, but if family life is crazy or you've been sitting at the hospital with a loved one, it may be a time of lowered activity (but some activity none the less). If financially you are getting unexpected medical bills, need new tires, and everyone just grew out of their shoes you may not make any progress on paying down debt. There are times when you'll need to reengage in those things with intensity, but truly evaluate your life situation and be honest with yourself.

Last week was a crazy week. Six straight nights I was gone. Then Saturday morning I remembered...pot luck tomorrow (and I had to work that night). Can I just tell you I have severe anxiety about bringing food to potlucks/group settings? What if people don't like my food? etc. etc. And the more I try to do something great the more something totally flops. So I grabbed my mantra of "I'll bring the Doritos" and made some finger jello (at least my kids would eat it). Yes, it is only a step above store bought cookies that would send my mom into a tirade ("can someone just make a batch of cookies?"), but it is what I could do without causing myself stress and tears.

P.S. Thank you, Ruth, for providing me such freedom! You impacted me lots in the short time we got to hang out as sisters, but bet you didn't know THIS is one of the things I remember most (okay, there's lots more).