Not a hearer or a doer, but a hearer and a doer

I don't know why, but I can be quite extreme at times. I've noticed that I have an "all or none" mindset. And while sometimes it's very helpful—when it comes to things like service, love and surrender—other times it can be a major pain, like at the midpoint between planning and acting things out. But every day, with Jesus, I keep learning how to walk the thin bridge of balance that connects hearing to doing. Now, I've noticed that among us humans, there happen to be two extremes: the first are those who observe the world around them; who have studied seasons, people, things, nature and even themselves so meticulously that they can predict the course of events. These are people who listen. They hear the things others don't; the things spoken via silence, and see the little details others miss. When it comes to planning, these set of people are irreplaceable. However, most times these same people struggle with life post-planning. What they know—the things they've seen, heard and imagined—end up as shackles that keep their feet from moving. Hearing all, they feel weighed down by the depth life contains, and are unable to move, to make the most out of a life they've mentally unravelled. And then, there are the other set of people. The doers. Those who plough through life like death is hot on their heels. That are almost always in motion; sometimes, running from life even while they sleep. They are the ones who can run with just a word; are set on fire by just a sentence. These people truly shake the world. They're the ones who keep the earth bustling and bubbling; who explore and pillage and actually go the distance that hearers have only imagined. They're the adventurers, the inventors, the risk takers. However, they have their own flaws, and one of them is the inability to stay still. And as a result, casualties are usually not far behind. Sometimes, they miss the whole picture because they dashed out with just a part, and they end up making a mess of things because they never knew they weren't meant to go that way. In their haste, they fail to do what the former set of people do: they fail to listen, ironically at times, even when they hear. In learning new sides to me, I've found myself on both ends of the extreme: sometimes hearing so much that I'm paralysed, unable to move; and other times doing things at an almost feverish pace that the world around me becomes nothing more than a mixture of blurs and fading sounds. Recently though, I've been learning that the Lord Jesus wants me to dwell in balance: to dwell in him. To be so still that even the slightest whisper from his lips resonates through my being, and yet be so nimble and ready to act, such that when he says "Go", there's a sharp response of "Where?" He wants me to be that ever ready servant and daughter who has learnt to navigate the murky waters of hearing and doing. Who knows when to take a pause in the middle of the bustle and just listen. To the heartbeat of the Father; To the commands of the Son; To the nudges of the Spirit. And he doesn't want this just for me, but for as many as are willing to partner with him. It is why these days, whenever I come in contact with his word, my heart's prayer is usually: For the grace to hear and hear clearly, and for the strength to do and do rightly. Because I know that it is in this, I find fulfilment from living.