Are you too busy for living your life? Though this may sound like blame, that’s not the intent, are you living a Martha lifestyle? And hating it? Or wishing for help (did you ask)?
Since it’s that ‘time of year…’ the holidays can become somewhat overwhelming. My advice is that if the ugly head of ‘too much to do and not enough time’ or the uptick at work or the demands on your time, energy, and resources also ticks up a notch you need to STOP! Brew yourself a nice cup of tea and coffee, sit down, breathe in and breathe out, grab a pen and paper and look at your ‘to do’ list. Are all of those items necessary? Are there any items that you LIKE to do? Who has determine the items and priority – if it isn’t you, reassess.
What we sometimes forget is that we have been given by the God of the Universe – free choice. We can exercise it as long as we remember that we are responsible for our decisions and the consequences of those decisions. But never make a decision that goes against who you are, whose you are, and how you express you. As I look back on some of my disaster decisions I see that I never consulted with the Lord to discover if this was in His plans for me. Nor did I assess whether this was a ‘put on’ responsibility (regardless of who was doing the putting – you or an outside entity). I just accepted yet another ‘thing’ I needed to do. Silly me.
Too often we concede based on a supposed responsibility – sometimes that’s true, but rarely is it all the time. Come on now – you’ve been given a good mind, use it! Why are you being asked to do (fill in the blank)? I realize we are to bear one another’s burdens… but that’s a team effort with the one seeking help. You really aren’t expected to do it all on your own.
Too busy should never be our lifestyle. Don’t get to any age and look at your life through eyes that see what you’ve missed because you were too busy. And look who you were too busy for: the Lord, your spouse, your children, your expanded family, family outings, your friends, growing, learning, enjoying… and the list goes on and on. It’s never really a matter of age – we are all susceptible to the impacts on our time, energy, resources… life.
Our enemy would like nothing better than to paint us as derelict if we don’t engage. And yes, the devil really is sometimes ‘right’ but only in context not in fact. He loves to spread just an element of truth to catch us off guard. If you are feeling guilty… much of that can be laid at the feet of our accuser with just enough truth to causse us to question.
All of what I’ve been saying is never to be viewed as an excuse NOT to do what you know you should be doing. It isn’t license. But being too busy is never the answer. Life is a beautiful gift the Lord has given each of us. Hopefully we see through the dog and pony show and devote ourselves to the things that the Lord has provided for us. Being ‘too busy’ is not part of His plan.
