I’ll come back to Relationships stuff another time. Thought I’d post this whilst it’s on my mind. Actually, I might start posting all sorts of bits and pieces, with ‘Relationships’ as a side-thing dipping in and out of. We’ll see.

Anyway, the other day I was at my parents house and saw some juggling balls with words written on them. I took a picture and it got me thinking.

We often mention that we are ‘juggling’ things in our life, with the feeling that if we let any of this go or stop juggling then we are failures in life.

“I’ve got a lot on my plate at the moment“, or “It feels like I’m not stopping right now” or “I’ve barely got time to breathe” or “I’m here, there, and everywhere” etc. You get the idea.

When I saw these 3 words, it got me thinking about the various things we juggle in our lives. Our workload in our jobs, our family priorities with the children or spouses, we juggle our friendships and other relationships, as well as juggling other ‘duties’ (or things we think are duties!).

The whole concept of ‘juggling’ to me seems unnecessary and a little waste of our energies at times. I realise we often have a variety of comings and goings in our lives, and we need to arrange these accordingly. But often we juggle things that don’t need juggling. Lets remind ourselves that sometimes, we need to catch, drop or throw things… let me explain.

Catch – some things we need to catch, we need to keep hold of. We need to protect. Whether a friendship that needs investing in, whether that means taking our children out individually to invest in that relationship, or giving that friend who you haven’t spoken to in a while a call. Maybe we need to catch the initiative we are involved in at work – spending time  ensuring that is moving forward, that it is succeeding. Decide what needs to be caught, and catch it. Don’t catch other things that aren’t important. Catch the important things.

Throw – some things in our lives we need to throw. If you are leader, maybe you’re finding yourself bombarded by too many people’s issues, struggles and people all wanting their ‘piece’ of you. Remember – you can’t deal with everyone by yourself. Maybe some things need to be passed on or ‘thrown’ to somebody else (not at somebody else!). Don’t become isolated doing it on your own – throw things to others too. Maybe something you have been leading needs to be handed on to somebody else who can take it onto the new level. In church life – we are all called to be involved and play our part. Give someone else a go.

Throwing is also a movement. Its making sure something isn’t stationery. Maybe something needs improving and moving, it needs shaking up, changing, moving. By getting some things moving and shifting, it stirs it up a fresh. What’s stuck in one place in your life and needs throwing to give it some life?

By throwing some responsibility to somebody else and empowering them to lead, it can help them and you at the same time. What needs to be thrown onto somebody else?

Drop – as harsh as it sounds, sometimes dropping isn’t always bad. We often think of drop in our work lives when we ‘drop a ball’ and forget something. I don’t mean purposely doing this. But what I mean is that in some areas of our lives we need to stop doing what we are doing. Maybe there are relationships in our lives that need dropping. Friendships that are limiting you, aimless romantic relationships, working relationships that are edging in the direction of doing something morally wrong. With your exception of your family relationships, you choose your relationships. Some relationships needs ‘catching’ – taking time to develop and nurture, whereas some need dropping. Do it well. Do it carefully, do it in love. But don’t let a negative impacting relationship ruin your progression in your life, whether your relationship with God, your career progression, or simply your emotional stability!

With drop there is also the idea of ‘things’ and tasks in our lives that we need to drop. We can’t do everything. Some things we have to admit and choose not to do them. I love Shauna Niequists ‘Things I don’t do’ concept. A list of stuff I don’t do. Save yourself some serious stress and tiredness but not doing some stuff.

So what do you need to drop? What relationships do you need to drop? As horrible as it sounds, not all dropping is bad, just do it well.

Let’s stop juggling everything.

Catch what needs to be caught.

Throw what needs to be moved and thrown.

Drop the things that need dropping.