Several weeks ago, Sarah Westfall posted an Instagram story asking, “what questions are you holding?”

I’m not sure why that question, at that time, felt needed, but it did. And it was.

I started thinking about what was happening inside me. After spending some time reflecting on her question, I was surprised by my answer.

How can I do ALL the things God has for me when I seem to have problems doing even one of them?

That is a big question, especially for someone who loves to check off tasks from a to-do list. It is also a big realization. I set out to do everything with excellence. However, when I fail to complete items off my list, or when I rush through tasks because I am so far behind, I often feel like a failure. When I’m trying to make rapid progress on my task list the last thing I’m concerned with is excellence . Even when I do complete tasks I often feel like a failure because tasks were done with quickness over quality. It can feel like a constant circle of self-doubt, shame and condemnation.

The question that surfaced caught me off guard, but the question was a start to an answer. And it felt good to have a few words for things I had been feeling. Of course, I know all of the “right” answers. But there’s something beyond the answers I need, and it is not as simple as an answer to one question.

I’m the type of person who would rather struggle carrying 7 bags of groceries than to make two trips. I don’t know why. I’ve proven time and time again that it never ends well. A bag rips open, or a handle tears off, and in trying to correct or catch those items I tend to cause a bigger mess with the other items.

I tend do that in other situations also. If only I would have carried less to begin with. If only care and patience were my focus instead of speed and efficiency. Instead, I often feel like a failure at everything and I feel unsuccessful at even one thing because I’m working on ALL the things at once.

That’s not how God made me, and NOT what He expects from me. Nor you.

No matter our focus, we only have the capability to make the next right decision. You may be able to make 100 different decisions, or give directions, or “multi-task” over the course of an hour, or a day, but in this moment…this one second in time, you have one next right decision to make. Make it, do it, then repeat. Oh, and while you’re at it, remember to ask God his opinion on the matter also.

I often say that I’m not sure God has simply one path for us, and we’re either on it or off it. I believe there are times that is true, but I also believe there are many more times that God says, “You want to do that? OK, just glorify me.”

So, my question to you is the same one Sarah asked of me: What questions are you holding?