Be Intentional: Work Hard, Play Softly

Be Intentional: Work Hard, Play Softly by Tiffany Ward

You have probably heard the phrase, “Work hard, play hard!” Great right?! It’s a mantra people seem to live by on the daily. My family certainly works hard and plays hard. After a recent short trip to the beach, I came back to a full plate of work and very little time for sitting, resting, or making space to breathe.

I want to share a brief anecdote about Bible characters with you. This true story is found in Luke 10:38-42 and also the gospel of John chapter eleven. The narrative is about two sisters—a dynamo pair. One was a mover and a doer. The other embraced quiet, softening herself and sitting. Both gals are marvelous and wonderfully made. Their names are Mary and Martha. Their brother was the super cool dude named Lazarus, who died and was raised from the dead by Jesus. He gets a lot of props in the Bible—not only because he was a friend of Jesus who died and was raised back to life (quite frankly, I’m thinking he ran out of that tomb), but also his death moved our Lord to weep. We see how Jesus comforted Martha and Mary. How tender and compassionate a moment shared with Jesus and the two sisters Mary and Martha. What a beautiful space the Bible holds for grief and crisis. What a gift to process the emotions we have associated with loss. Not just loss of life, but maybe also the loss of how we understood life. Whatever the case for you, I love this intentional picture written in the narrative of the Bible for us to see how wonderfully we are made.

You don’t have to read much of my work to know I’m someone who values feelings and thoughts. I find them extremely interesting. I love how thoughts and feelings affect each other. There is power in understanding the dynamic of feelings that are valid but not always factual, and thoughts that aren’t always true, but are instead thinking traps. It is important to understand how they shape our decisions and actions if we let them. It’s essential to know what’s valid and true in order for us to move through life with fluidity. Sometimes the feelings or thoughts can help us see we might need to pause. Or slow down like Mary who sat at Jesus’ feet. Or maybe we need to take action the way that Martha does. I will share that I have emotionally and mentally processed many emotions. I have especially done this with Jesus in prayer, my husband, a close friend or family member, and intentionally with my therapist and/or mentor. I have also processed some meaningful thoughts with my business and writing coaches, helping me to shape a clearer understanding of where I am headed—and allowing my vision and dreams to come into focus. Gosh, there is so much to learn and experience in the short time we live here on earth.

I can share that I especially have felt familiar with grief, sadness, and anger as well as joy, hope, and peace. I have been Martha trapped in my many distractions and worries. Sometimes the voice of shame will whisper the lie that I am not good enough. I have learned I am wonderfully made. If I am good enough, it’s because Christ is in me. Shame or grief don’t get to drive me or stop me in my tracks. I love having this type of God-Confidence. I find myself often sitting at the feet of Jesus like Mary. Having a new life in Christ has helped me understand what it really means to live.

There is definitely a time to abide in the work, and there is a time to play. There are times to weep and mourn and times to laugh and dance. We approach each of these things in our own season. There are new ideas that need to be considered. Such as becoming intentional in our own approach to living. Yes, we do want to work hard, but how about playing softly? What about sitting? How about directing our attention and affection toward slowing down, listening and holding space for others—or maybe even for ourselves. You are wonderfully made.

I encourage you to be intentional. Start today. Push pause, sit, and lean into the quiet. I love to take time each day to meditate. Setting my mind and mood through this practice has been so essential to the tone of my day ahead. I love to say a prayer and attach it to a biblical truth. I know that I can carry this intention with me in the working hours of the day, and I can also remember the intention in the moments of sitting in my day. Can you practice a pause in your daily living? Maybe start with sitting, noticing, not judging—just breathing. Inhaling peace, and exhaling anxiety, grief, and anger. You matter. You are wonderfully made.

—Be Treasured