Wise Up, Eyes Up

Hey guys, gals & pals!

I am currently sitting in my dorm room feeling a little overwhelmed and stressed thinking about all of the things I have to do.

So what better time to take a break and write a devotion?!

But first, to start…

DEAR JESUS TODAY I AM THANKFUL FOR:

1. Last week my family was able to take a vacation (in case you did not see my several Instagram posts lol) and it was such a nice getaway and such a great week to spend with family. Even if I did come home with some major sunburns…..

2. I am thankful for bath and body works! Now that may seem strange, but I am in a club at UW called American Marketing Association, and we have the opportunity to meet and network with several cool companies throughout the year. SO we met with bath & body and they sent us all HUGE care packages and it has a lot of their “stress relief” line and it was just the nicest package they could have sent and I love it.

3. FRIENDS. Oh my my the past few days I have had friends reach out to me with such nice things! Asking what they can pray about for me and sending over compliments on something I did. It is just so nice to be thought of, ya know?

If you know anything about me, you know that I absolutely LOVE the musical Hamilton. I mean seriously it was my only personality trait freshman and sophomore year of high school…. Most days I have Snapchat memories of me or my friends singing the soundtrack… it is almost embarrassing.

Out of the 46 songs, there is one line that I want to focus on. In his final duel with Aaron Burr, the scene freezes and Hamilton has a monologue. Within this, he says “I'm running out of time, I'm running, and my time's up Wise up, eyes up”

Let’s read that again “I'm running out of time, I'm running, and my time's up Wise up, eyes up”

I don’t know about anyone else, but this line seems to encompass exactly how I am feeling.

THERE IS SIMPLY NOT ENOUGH TIME IN THE DAY!! All I do is homework, or work, or studying, or struggle to find time to watch my lectures, or or OR.

The list, for me, could go on and on. “I’m running out of time… I’m running” is how I feel on a daily basis. And boy is it stressful and BOY is it overwhelming.

And by the end of the day, it’s “times up” time to go to bed, or nearly fall asleep at my desk or on the futon. There is nothing more I can do than be proud of what I finished for the day and prepare to do the same thing tomorrow.

It is not always fun. In fact, it is rarely ever fun to feel behind on work, overwhelmed, and stressed.

That is where the final four words come into play “Wise up, eyes up”

Why? Why do I let myself feel so stressed and overwhelmed when there is someone who loves me so much that he refuses to let me feel this way. And he encourages me to give my stress and anxiety to him.

Matthew 11:28

“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

1 Peter 5:7

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you”

Wise up: STOP feeling this you are in this on your own and remember you have someone much smarter and much stronger than you on your side

Eyes up: LOOK TO HIM!! When you are feeling stressed and overwhelmed and he will help give you peace

“Look at the birds of the air… your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much for valuable than they?”

( from Matthew 6:25-34 10 verses about reasons not to worry which I absolutely adore and encourage you to read!)

I am so grateful to have someone to turn my eyes to when my mountains of work seem to stand in my way… Good thing faith can move mountains ;)

Things to work on this week:

1. Getting off my phone. It is part of the reason why I feel so behind and is much more of a hindrance than a help!

2. Block scheduling/planning! Darling Mother Mary sent me a reel on Instagram all about how to schedule out your day to help get things done and avoid distractions which I desperately need.

3. Mother Mary got me Jordan Lee Dooley’s “Own Your Everyday” a long time ago and I never finished reading it because literally, the first page made me cry… I think it is time to give it another shot!

Now it is time for me to tackle my work...

I hope the rest of your week is stress-free!

Sharing my love for Jesus and His love for you :)

Annika Bilitz