I just finished the book The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer. It was so good, but as I put the book on my shelf (definitely a keeper), I felt busier than ever.
Over and over again, despite my best efforts to balance, I show up as a “yes” person. In the last few months I have felt the pressure of that. Though I had conviction about the schedule I was keeping, I continued to say yes. I was squeezing God into my schedule along with the people He has blessed my life with. I was doing so many things that were good, but I was failing to do what God was asking me to do. My friend Michelle once said in a Bible study, “Just because it’s good, doesn’t mean it’s good for me.” Those words are incredibly wise and I often think of them. Because I had filled my hours with busyness, I was struggling to walk in obedience to what God was asking me to do. At the end of each day, I was left with exhaustion, and despite being busy, I continued to feel like I was falling short.
Can you relate, are you surviving each day?
Are you being pulled in a million different directions?
Do you feel spread thin and worn down?
Do you feel like you’re on fast forward and racing through this beautiful gift of life?
Jesus said that He came to give us life in abundance (John 10:10).
Busyness and hurry, though they come in abundance, are not of God. It’s not how He lived a minute of His life here. He was intentional, relational, and present. In striving to be more like Him, I feel so far from Him in the present categories at times because of this hurried American life. I want to sit and enjoy a cup of tea with friends while our children play, but what I give is a quick text: “Hey, friend! Miss you!”
I want to be present in my conversations and prayer life, but sometimes my exhaustion overtakes my prayer while thoughts of my ever growing to do list run through my head while I’m talking with someone else.
Now, before you offer “Have grace on yourself!” or “It’s a season!” Yes, you are right, but I do worry if we don’t practice intentionality in our face-to-face relationships now, things will never slow down to do so, and we will be left with a manufactured relationship of shallowness with "our people."
I am in a season of raising children, and I don’t have a lot of time for extras. But I feel God saying, be intentional with the small amount of extra that you have. God has the world in His hands, and yet He sees each one of us. He shows up when we invite Him. He speaks to each of us through His Word, the people in our lives, and even the beauty of our surroundings. God’s in everything, but are we too busy to slow down enough to see Him working?
My friends, life wasn’t intended to be rushed. We can see that Jesus was intentional with His time. He built deep relationships. He served those in need, and He also took time to spend with His Father. It makes me question the hurried life I’m living. Life is a gift and we were meant to have it in abundance. Let’s take time this week to soak in that abundance. Let’s be intentional - no phone or screen in between us and our people. Let’s work towards connection. At the end of the day, we know that tomorrow isn’t promised and that time is the most valuable thing we’ve been given. Have a great week, friends!
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