“Faith & Grace” by AJM ELLIS
“The next right thing…”
In the past few weeks, this line has been lifted in my consciousness several times.
I was reading my devotional this morning, Find Peace: A 40-Day Devotional Journey for Moms” by Shaunti Feldhahn, I saw it again: “You just have to do the ‘next right thing.’ A friend was offering her advice at a time when she was overwhelmed and feeling stressed and stretched thin by the multitude of things that were pulling on her attention and time. She had to make a decision on how to use her time and was challenged with feelings or pressure, stress, guilt because she couldn’t do it all at the same time and it all was important. (Day 12, pg. 46)
Last week, Brene Brown posted on Instagram a piece entitled “25 Years for 25 Marbles.” As she celebrated 25 years of sobriety and shared lessons learned, she said: “For me, celebrating 25 years of sobriety is about reflecting back on ‘trying to do the next right thing’ for the past 9,125 days or more honestly, for the past 219,000 hours.”
A few weeks ago, I was preparing an email to debrief on my most recent D.E.I. learnings and reflections. I had been reading two books on multicultural and anit-bias education for children. In one text, a teacher noted the challenge of speaking and attempting to address bias. She said:
"Anything I try will be unsatisfactory to someone, make someone uncomfortable, or cause a conflict. But if I try to meet every possible criticism before I take action I will be paralyzed. So I've got to keep moving ahead with my best thinking, learn from the results, listen to the criticism, and try again."
(quoted in What If All the Kids Are White? Anti-Bias Multicultural Education with Young Children and Families by Derman-Sparks and Ramsey, 2011, p.19 as found in Alvarado et al, 1999, p.106)
As I read through the text, this quote stood out to me. For some reason it reminded me of Grand Pabbie's words to Elsa and Anna in Frozen II: “When you can see no future, all you can do is the next right thing.” (See the scene below.)
Three different contexts, same message to my spirit: “Do the next right thing.”
Don’t be paralyzed by fear. Don’t let the unknown stop you from moving forward. Use what you have and do what you know to do. Do the next right thing.
There are times when I get overwhelmed (or overwhelm myself) with my dreams and aspirations, with life’s curveballs, with the seemingly never-ending demands of life, with worries or fears… I find myself trying to prevent possible outcomes that trigger anxious thoughts. I’ve learned that trying to prevent possible outcomes due to fear is not the same as preparing for the future. The energy is different. The motivation is different. One saps energy, joy and peace. The other creates more space for each of them.
For me, doing the next right thing is a position. It’s a stance. It’s a decision to brave the winds and waves of life from a more grounded and peace-oriented place.
Isaiah 41:10, an anchor verse for me says, “Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (NKJV)
I feel a beckoning to anchor myself and move forward one step at a time doing “the next right thing.” It’s a beckoning to let worry, stress and pressures pass away with the same winds that bring them, grounding myself in peace and a resolution to keep doing the next right thing. It’s a beckoning to trust God’s leading, the good will in my heart, and the fruits of preparation.
Here’s to a week of rest even in the midst of work. Here’s to doing the “next right thing” one moment, one step, one day at a time.
Have an amazing week!
AJM Ellis