My grandmother was a kind, generous, loving and thoughtful woman who I did not speak to nearly as much as I should have before she left this earth. From childhood to the year she died, I spent almost every summer with her watching her get up daily to clean, cook, socialize and watch her Soap Operas. My grandmother encouraged those around her to do the best they could. She would literally tell me “do the best you can” during our conversations about how school was going and any other thing we discussed. It wasn’t until just recently while reading my Trusting God Day by Day devotional that I really understood what she was saying to me during our various conversations.

In her book Trusting God Day by Day, Joyce Meyer says “start making decisions without second-guessing yourself or worrying about the choices you make. Don’t be double-minded.” When I read this I not only thought about what my grandmother use to say but I also remembered James 1: 6-8 that reads:

'But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do. ' James 1:6-8 NIV

I’ve heard this scripture quoted numerous times and each time I related it to being double-minded in your walk with Christ. I thought that the scripture was telling us that we should not doubt God. I’m now learning that scriptures are straight forward but they are also open to some interpretation, so while James 1: 6-8 is telling us to put our full trust in God and not doubt him, it’s also telling us to not be indecisive; so say that you are going to do something and actually do it. Both of these interpretations can be true.

As someone who has struggled with being indecisive and feeling extremely guilty because of their indecisiveness, it’s such an awakening to learn that being indecisive in one’s decisions are linked to the double-mindedness that the Book of James speaks of, but we also should not wallow in self-pity over that one flaw. We have to do the best we can. No one is perfect but God. He created each of us knowing some of the things we would deal with and go through. God knows our innermost being. He knows what we need and what we struggle with and his grace and mercy free us from guilt and shame. While we should definitely keep James 1: 6-8 in mind in our day to day lives we should also be extremely careful not to let ourselves become complacent in our current situation.

Over the last two years, I’ve been home with my son as a stay at home mom; hoping, dreaming, and wishing for things to happen. I wish I could say that I’ve been heeding my grandmother’s advice of doing the best I can with what I have but in all honesty, I have not.

' “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. “ ‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ' Matthew 25:14-30 NIV

God gave me talents and provided me with the perfect opportunity to begin sowing and multiplying those talents over the last two years that I was home with my son, but I barely did anything with them. Instead of doing the best I could with what I had, I made excuses, lacked discipline, and played the comparison game in my head thanks to my good friend social media. But how could I honestly sit here and compare my bare minimum effort to the effort of someone I don’t really know who is getting up every day putting their feet to the pavement and using what God gave them no matter their obstacles to get to their current ever-evolving level of success? I can’t. The worse thing I can do for myself is do nothing with my one talent as the man in the parable did.

God has given each of us gifts, but the worse thing any of us can do is sit around waiting for God to bless no action. God moves when we move. He blesses action and obedience. How tragic would it be to spend your entire life just hoping and wishing for God to do something while he’s literally just waiting on us to move?

Stagnancy kills purpose more than doubt

He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

God asks for mustard seed faith. But the Bible also tells us we have to “say” to the mulberry tree be uprooted and it will obey. Saying requires action. It requires us to do something, it requires us to move in order for the miracle or promise of God to happen.