Fill in the Blank
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters."
Colossians 3:23
Have you ever considered the importance of taking better care of the things entrusted to us? Our daily lives are filled with countless gifts, possessions, and relationships, big and small - and yet, how often do we stop to reflect on our role as stewards of these blessings?
This has been on my heart lately as I fall in line with what God has been teaching me.
As the new year was turning over, I knew a slower season lay before me. I was so grateful for the rest, but my mind quickly began seeing all this new free time as an opportunity to fill with tasks, busy work, and projects. If you’re anything like me you’ll quickly understand - being the dreamer I am, I tend to overload my dreaming box to the point where I get overwhelmed and well..nothing gets done.
This year…I wanted to do things differently. Being newly married, learning how to become a homemaker, and desiring to be more intentional with the things and people around me, I knew I needed God’s guidance to not fall into my typical cycle.
So after much needed prayer, I felt God drop a simple question in my heart along with His gentle encouragement of, though it was a question FROM Him, it was one designed FOR me to ask myself.
The words fell into my heart:
“How can I better take care of _______________?”
Like a joyful child eagerly awaiting to be told from her father that now she can “open her eyes to see the surprise,” I waited for God to fill in that blank. And waited…and waited…but it wasn’t clicking.
I imagined a warm smile on the face of my Abba as He said, “Let’s talk a walk, Little One, and learn more about what this blank could mean for you.
I cracked an eye open, saw His outstretched hand, and sheepishly reached my hand to wrap around his. In our “walk” He lead me back to scripture:
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus teaches a profound lesson on stewardship through the parable of the talents (Luke 19:11-27). In this story, a master entrusts his servants with different amounts of money before going on a journey. Upon his return, he evaluates how each servant managed what was given to them. The servants who invested wisely and increased what they had been given were commended, while the one who buried his talent out of fear was rebuked.
The biggest focus for me in this parable is the differences of heart postures of the servants.The first two were motivated by wisdom, service, and respect, while the last was moved by fear.
I felt a mirror being turned on me, so I “gazed” upon myself and took in what was weighing heavy inside me. This is what echoed back:
I need to clean the house…
I need to make time for Michael…
I am exhausted from doing too much…
I forgot to check up on a friend…
The list kept going, and I heard God whisper, “You found them - your “blanks.” Now, let’s rework your heart here.”
That question came back to my mind and I “heard” that missing puzzle piece finally click into place as God guided me to to reword my struggles through grace:
I need to clean the house became
how can I better take care of our home?
I need to make time for Michael became
how can I better take care of my husband?
I am exhausted from doing too much became
how can I better take care of myself?
I forgot to check up on a friend became
how can I better take care of my friend?
Can you see the difference? The first is coming from a place of duty, routine, structure, and emotional leftovers. In some of those spaces, I had even left the doorway to shame cracked open by leaning into the shadows behind the words that whispered: “You’re not enough…”. (THIS is a dead end road that takes you far from where God intends for you to go)
The second is laced with intentionality, grace, and it leaves room for God’s guidance on how to take care of what is around us by walking in line with Him - not relying on how we think something or someone should be loved. It’s a place fueled by God’s love, not from the dwindling reserves of our emotional states. Praise the Lord!
This was a big one for me: stewardship goes beyond mere maintenance; it's about intentional care and gratitude. In the book of Genesis, we read about how God entrusted Adam and Eve with the care of the garden of Eden. They were to tend and keep it (Genesis 2:15), showing responsibility over the creation around them. This illustrates a broader principle of stewardship—we are called to responsibly manage and care for what we have been given.
Think about the objects you interact with daily—the home you live in, the tools you use, the natural world around you. Each of these reflects God’s provision. Intentional care involves more than just routine tasks; it's about infusing purpose and mindfulness into our actions. When we care for our possessions with intention, we cultivate a spirit of gratitude and responsibility. It's not about busying ourselves with chores but about investing our hearts in what matters.
In our daily lives, we encounter countless things and people that we are responsible for and interact with. It's so easy to rush through our routines, overlooking the importance of caring for what we have been given. However, God calls us to a deeper sense of stewardship and compassion in all that we do.
Reflect on the ways you currently care for the things in your life. Are there areas where you can improve? Perhaps it's taking better care of your home, maintaining your belongings, or investing more time in nurturing your relationships.
Think also about your self-care. Our bodies and minds are gifts from God, and caring for ourselves is a way of honoring the Creator. Remember, we are each fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14) and are called to treat ourselves with love and respect.
More often than not, self care means saying no to busy work and learning how to be still with God. That one is still a work in progress with me!
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus reminds us, "One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much." (Luke 16:10) Let us apply this principle to our stewardship. By tending to the small details of our lives, we cultivate a heart of integrity and trustworthiness.
I could make a list of all the ways you could start intentionally taking better care of the people and things in your life, but I believe that God gave me this question with that BLANK because He knew exactly what my heart would need to fill it. And that is more time walking with Him and learning about His love.
So I will leave you with this same question and encourage you to reflect on Colossians 3:23 - the first verse I shared with you - and I pray for God to speak to your heart just as He did mine.
So… how can you take better care of ______________?
