Just Busy or Too Busy?

   Have you ever sat down and really thought about everything you do? Your responsibilities. Demands from work. Family needs. Extra activities.  And - All God requires of you. Maybe it's easiest not to think of all these things, but sometimes a little self-check is what we need in order to diagnose our problem: Too busy.

   I will admit: I am busy. Between teaching, family and church, my schedule is often packed! But am I too busy? What even constitutes as "too busy?" For me, there is a balance between busy and too busy; that balance can sometimes be tricky. I have a full-time job, that is never finished. The mass of papers I grade is like the laundry at home; it never goes away! I also have a family. Between my husband's crazy work schedule and my kid's school and church activities, we are constantly on the move. I also have God, but the question is, Does He have me? 

   It is beyond easy to get sucked in by busyness. You're just doing what you have to do, right? This is where I have to check myself, or rather, let God do the inventory for me. A few of the questions I prayerfully ask of myself:

- Am I so frustrated, that I no longer find joy in what is keeping me so busy? 

- Am I so busy that I often forget or neglect my time with God? 

- Am I ignoring the things I am passionate about?

- Am I so busy doing things that I am too exhausted to do what God has called me to do?

- Am I so busy that I cannot make time to develop and nourish relationships with family and friends?

After the God to self evaluation, I have to be honest with myself (It also never hurts to have friends who will be honest with me if I choose not be!). Am I too busy?  If "too busy" is the answer, it's time to eliminate some things and rearrange priorities. 

   What I find about myself: I am usually not "too busy" but I am definitely busy. If God is in control of my busyness - I'm good. Me in control of my busyness is destined for disaster and that "too busy" feeling. This is where balance has to be found. I don't want to ever feel so good about my seemingly hectic schedule that I take control of it! I don't ever want my schedule to have me. I want God to have me.

** I have also found busy people can make other people uncomfortable. They often want to label you as "too busy." When this happens, I just do a God to self check. I believe God has a supernatural way of expanding time and energy when we're about His business and not just our busyness! 

   

Lesson in Clean Up

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to do a little "clean up" with a few friends of mine. This wasn't a regular clean up job though. It was something God had laid on our hearts. The problem was we had procrastinated...
We had driven by this fence row a few times. We had all noticed the trash blowing freely in the fence, especially the big plastic pieces hung up in the barb wire. So we discussed it and knew, we had to clean it up! Well, we were all busy and several weeks went by before we got back around to that trash in the fence. The thing was, what had once been large pieces of plastic in the fence, had now been shredded by the wind into smaller pieces of plastic. The large pieces that would have been easy to remove were now slivers of plastic clinging for life to the fence. And, it was now not only in the fence, it was also in the trees and weeds close to the fence. Our clean up job was growing! So we set the date and got the fence row - and trees and weeds - cleaned up!
As we cleaned the fence row, it occurred to us how much this trash was like sin in our lives. How when we listen to the Holy Spirit the first time and remove the sin from our life, it is so much easier to remove. But, unfortunately, too often we don't listen the first time. We allow sin to remain and become a part of us, and it becomes so hard to remove. It gets a hold, even a stronghold in our lives. What makes it even worse, we're not the only ones our sin affects. Like the plastic that had shredded and blew into nearby trees and weeds, our sin has an effect on the lives of people around us.
As we finished cleaning up the fence line, we were all thankful for an amazing God who taught us a little lesson through our "hands on" experience.