Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Busy


Garth and I are busy. We lead two small groups. I grocery shop and meal plan for five nights a week and Garth is training for a marathon. We go to church. Spend time with family. Go out to eat with friends. Vacation with friends and family. Work full-time. Keep up on the laundry and the household chores. We maintain the lawn and work-out. We try and spend quality time just the two of us. We attend birthday parties, going away parties, dedications, and other events to support friends and family. We make time for hobbies, we read the Bible and pray together, do devotionals and stay connected to the ones we love.

But we are all busy. It’s not just Garth and I. Places to run after work. Events to attend. Friends and family to support. Work that needs to get done. Clothes that need cleaning and lawns that need to be mowed. I get it. I’m right there with you. We are busy.

I didn’t really think anything of it. We are busy. Our culture thrives on being busy. Until I heard my pastor say being busy has turned into a popularity contest. The busier the person the better they are. The more popular they are. It was like a light bulb clicked. That is how I felt. I felt that I had to be busy to fit in, to prove I was liked. It sounds so silly when I admit it. But it’s true.

Don’t mistunderstand. I’m not saying all these things that keep me busy are bad. I feel incredibly blessed to be busy. To have a job to go to everyday. A home to take care. A husband to spend time with. Friends and family that love and support me. A church I love to attend and a God I love to praise. These are all amazing things that make me an incredibly blessed person and I never want to take any one of them for granted.

But it also means I don’t have to always be busy for the sake of being busy. Especially if just to fit in! That would be the worst reason to be busy. It means it’s okay to take a breather. Have no plans for a weekend. Take a mental break. A time-out. And that is exactly what Garth and I did over Labor Day weekend. We purposely made no plans. We slept in. We rented movies. We caught up on The Office seasons. We went on walks. Out to lunch. Laid around in pajamas all day. Whatever we felt like doing. But we were not busy. We were the opposite of busy. And it was magical.

4 comments:

Anne said...

sounds wonderful. Glad you could enjoy it! and also glad to hear that despite the busyness you continue to make time for bible reading and devotions. You are a great godly woman!

Adrienne said...

I've heard that before actually, and I think it's so true! It seems really hard to fit into this culture without being busy... Let's change that!

I'm glad you got time off from busy! We did too :)

Naturally Caffeinated Family said...

Right on :) Yes, we always (Hubby does a great job of) reminding ourselves what is important! It is something that we all need to remind ourselves of all the time. :) Glad y'all had a wonderful, relaxing weekend!

Elizabeth said...

This is so true! And exactly what I needed to hear today! I was talking with a friend how I don't know what it's like not to be busy but I crave weekends with no plans. Then when that happens, I am jumping to do something. I need to take the time like y'all did & just enjoy it.