Life is Busy
Are you being lead or is life driving you?
I was driving home from Kroger the other day and as I was pulling into the driveway and thinking of going into the house and cooking dinner, starting a load of clothes, and helping my son with homework, it hit me; my life is busy! Then I thought, “my life has always been super busy.” Now, what is so funny to me is that, I used to live for a busy lifestyle. I mean, I was always involved in something, participating in something else, or just helping out in some way or another. I remember being in college and my Pastor telling me, “you better watch that; your need and want to be so busy all the time because the enemy can use that to his advantage.” I didn’t really get it then but as I grew in my spiritual walk, I understood.
As I thought more about all the other stuff I had to do after cooking dinner, that day, I began compiling a mental “to-do” list. Probably about a year or two ago, this fast pace system would have been completely normal for me since, like I said previously, that was what I was used to. I was busy in middle school, busy in high school, busy in college, busy after I got married, and definitely busy after we had children. I have learned that how busy you are is heavily dependent upon the season you’re in and as you can see, every season has brought some form of work and responsibility for me. Don’t misunderstand me; my attitude is full of gratitude. However, I want to always remember, and I want to tell you that, being so busy can cause a habit of hurriedness and that is not beneficial long term. I read this book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer and he had some very interesting points about slowing down and enjoying the blessings God has given you instead of spending all of your time doing stuff. I’ll leave you with a few tips that have been beneficial for me.
1. The number one thing that I have taken to heart as soon as I read it was, “Remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy.” That’s actually a commandment. People who know me will tell you, on Sunday, I’m probably not gone be available to do much of anything after church. My debit card doesn’t even work properly on the Sabbath. I will say in a minute, “oh, it’s the Sabbath” that means, I will not be able to be involved in whatever is going on. Now, just for clarity sake; I choose to honor the Sabbath on Sunday. You may have a different day. The Bible says God worked 6 days and rested on the 7th. You can do what you want with that, its free.
2. Choosing one day to unplug from my phone. This gives me a sense of peace and since I have no notifications to see or emails to respond to, it also helps to decrease my anxiety.
3. Force myself to do the speed limit. This one is funny because I tend to drive on the faster side of the speed limit; but I look at it this way, I am forced to examine the time I have and the activities I already have scheduled before piling something else onto my plate. Knowing that I can only do the speed limit, limits me to jam packing my schedule and having to rush to get ready or rush to get where I’m going because I have over booked myself and now I don’t have time to fully engage in the task in front of me.
These three have been the most beneficial to me in slowing down, being present in the actual moment, and making better decisions about the things I choose to do with my life. Comer said, “the way we spend our time is the way we spend our lives.” This determines who we become or, who we don’t become. Try not to be so busy that you aren’t any good.
XoXo