Busy, busy busy

 A few weeks ago, we were in the midst of some very busy days. It felt like I was constantly on the go, taking our children to their various activities. Busy schedules are depleting for me; I definitely function better when I have time to fully charge in my introverted bubble of home. I was running errands on the road one morning when Joni Eareckson Tada's radio broadcast entitled "Diamonds in the Dust" was a wake-up call. She was referring to the fruits of the spirit found in Galatians 5: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Joni zoned in on the last fruit. I admit that I typically view self-control as an ability to control oneself, having good behavior and not sinning or self-indulging. But in her broadcast, Joni took it a step further: what if self-control is also about slowing down and saying no to "busyness"? Do I have the self-control to say no and protect the health of myself and my family? It takes a supernatural strength to choose God's plan over mine and that even pertains to our schedules. It's easy to say yes to things and crowd God out of my life (even with good things!) Am I truly discerning what His plan is when each opportunity comes my way? Our lives are made up of a pre-determined number of hours, are we using them wisely and for His glory?

I remember when Covid hit. It was so hard to go from countless activities, school, church, jobs to absolutely nothing. Some went insane. Some learned to enjoy the slower pace. I remember my mom challenging me to use it as a tool to guage what activities are important enough to add back in and which ones that could be discarded. Here we are two years later and everything seems back to normal, especially our crazy busy schedules. It's humbling to realize us humans forget important lessons so quickly. 

During the season of Lent our church had a special sermon series entitled "Living in the Age of Affluence" studying how Jesus redeems certain words that our world has redefined. The final message on April 10 was on Peace, based on the text of John 14:23-27. As we entered Holy Week, we were challenged to examine where Jesus can make peace in our lives. We were reminded that Jesus champions humility over pride, giving over taking, meekness over rage, and peace over war. God pricked my conscience with another thought: Jesus champions stillness over busyness. Was I exhibiting healthy self-control or was our busyness becoming an idol we strived for? I thought of Jesus and how he carved out time alone with God, even in the midst of busy ministry. He knew when to act and when to retreive to quiet time. He modeled self-control perfectly. 

In his sermon, Pastor Dale defined a peacekeeper as someone who is afraid of conflict, a people-pleaser, or someone who is anxious or depressed. But a peacemaker is someone who is not afraid of conflict, they're self-controlled, and they listen well. Too often I find myself in the peacekeeping category, but how assuring to know that we can be peacemakers in God's kingdom if we learn to be self-controlled listeners to His leading! 

Have you been believing the lie that busy is "just how life is"? Have you examined whether busyness is robbing you of spiritual growth or ways God desires you to serve? Do you long for peace in your life...physically and spiritually? May we all take a step back, take a deep breath, and have a heart-to-heart with God on what needs to go and what should stay!

God, I'm sorry for the times I crowd you out of my life, running from one thing to another. Please ground me. Show me what the devil is using to rob me of spiritual growth. Help me to be obedient to what you may be asking me to surrender or rid my life of. Show me how to spend my time wisely. May I never be too busy to do what is truly your will.