Busy Busy
Did you hear that?
It was the tick tick tick of the clock reminding us of time slipping through our fingers. Wait a minute, who am I kidding? We all have digital clocks now so really, we just look up and are flabbergasted (that’s a great word) when we see that five hours have flown by and we haven’t gotten through much of our to do list…or stand up for that matter.
Perhaps you have felt it? That grab on your heart when you have so much to get done and it’s just. not. happening. You can start feeling the beating as your heart threatens to jump out of your chest and your breathing is shallow and fast. You feel irritable because you are being interrupted CONSTANTLY and of course something slows down or breaks which sets up back even more.
I have felt it.
Then days turn to weeks and weeks turn to months, until you realize that an entire year has flown by and you just slaved yourself to your list until life is a bit of a drudgery.
I have done that.
In fact, if I were to be completely transparent I should say, I do that.
This is something I struggle with…every day. There is school to teach, lessons and books to write, things to design, meals to plan and prepare, a house to keep up, and let’s not even talk about the laundry. The thing is though…this is just the busy work. The stuff that is part of life that needs to get done but doesn’t need to define me…or you. It is so easy to get busy. Sometimes I think that overscheduling ourselves can be a tool Satan uses to have us exist in this life so that we are not busy with what the Lord would have us to do.
I mean – why are we here? Really, let’s think about that for a second. How should we be spending our time?
Jesus said we should be spreading the Gospel. (Matthew 28:18-20)
We are to be looking for opportunities to serve (Matthew 25: 31-46)
We are to be loving, hospitable, & using the gifts God has given us to serve Him. (1 Peter 4:8-10)
This is not just a post that tells us to not feel like we must be the perfect wife and mother with the perfect clean house. This is about time. We only have so much of it so instead of talking about what we shouldn’t feel like we must get done, let’s talk about what we should be doing. We should be spending time actively spreading God’s Word. We should be actively seeking ways in which we can serve others. If we are parents, we should actively spend time with our children teaching them about our Father (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).
Paul reminded us in Ephesians 5:16 that we must redeem the time. This means that we must prioritize what we should be doing with the time we have been given. Well, what about all that other stuff though? It doesn’t do itself does it? We have jobs inside and outside the home (and sometimes both). Places to go and things to do…
I firmly believe that if we put God and the work of the kingdom FIRST (Matthew 6:33), these things will fall into place. It’s not magic, it is just the way of things. It doesn’t mean that it will happen the way you expect it will, but it will. I am not trying to be mysterious, but there really is no pat answer to every situation. I believe that God’s ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9) and that we are not capable of fully understanding how He works unless it is revealed to us (Romans 11:33-36). I believe that He has shown us repeatedly that He keeps His promises (Numbers 23:19).
I will conclude with the fact that this is something I struggle with. If anyone were to see me out and about and ask me how I am, my usual response is a variation of “staying busy”. Knowing what to do and doing it, is not always easy. Let’s encourage one another to stay busy…with the work of the Lord. I need the encouragement, perhaps you do to.