“Busy”

At Church on Sunday during worship there was a sweet little family sitting in front of us. They had a toddler boy and girl. As worship is happening the little girl is watching her Dad’s phone and she is focused- “All the earth will shout your praises, our hearts will cry, these bones will sing Great are you Lord” This little tiny girl hears these words and stretches her arms up high with palms facing up, she looks up as high as her little head and eyes will let her and keeps her arms raised!

Talk about powerful! This sweet girl was so focused on her phone and out of nowhere hears these words and opens herself up in such a way to just receive the Lord. It was precious, uplifting, and humbling all at the same time.

I equate this to us in this way: We as a people are “busy.” Aren’t we? Don’t we all say it all the time. We are constantly telling people “We are busy”, sorry I didn’t call you back- “I was busy.” Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry…. People ask us how we are and we say, “busy.” hmmmm Think about that for a minute-

How are you?
Que response:
BUSY

What is busy? What does this mean? What are we busy doing? Hmmmm I have heard people say I’ve been busy, “sorry I couldn’t call you” Then you look at social media and you see that they posted something a few minutes ago and then responded to different comments…. Maybe you told someone you were busy and you did the same thing. I think sometimes we say that we are busy out of habit. It becomes second nature. Busy is relative- because if it is something that you really want to do or a place you want to be you will make time. If it is a movie or show you want to watch you will make time. If there is a game on tv that you want to see you will make time. People- if there are people that you want to spend time with you will make time! Think about that- Oh the dating phase…. Working 2 jobs, going to school raising a child, and yet still making time to spend moments with that special someone. hmmmm

Does any of this make you or me bad people? No, the answer is no, but how can we improve our response from “busy” which isn’t always the case to something a little more honest- Maybe instead of saying I got “busy” and that’s why I didn’t call you back- Be honest and say that it slipped your mind- You got side tracked.
Maybe instead of saying that you are to busy to hang out with someone use the truth- I already have plans or I kind of want to just stay in. I promise your relationships will improve if you take these simple steps in being more forth coming with your responses.

In the same way that that little girl stopped what she was doing to receive the Lord we could maybe sometimes stop what we are doing and take in the stuff that is around us- I see this all the time and I am guilty too.

You are sitting on the couch scrolling through social media and your child is saying, hey! Look at me! We respond with one second- because you know that status that we are reading or uploading is of so much importance.

We get so caught up in our own selfishness that we can’t even get through the grocery line without pulling our phones out and disregarding the cashier all together. We live in such a fast paced world that we feel bad if we have a day of no plans- I know that I am guilty of this! I feel pressure from I don’t even know where to have something planned whether it be an activity or an outing… I struggle with just being when it comes to the kids… I find myself constantly trying to plan stuff for them. I guess I just want them to experience so much-

It was in the last year that I learned to really love quiet time. I yearn for it now. When we lived in North Carolina I would take my board out on the water early in the morning before everyone woke up. The water would be quiet and calm. The sunrise filled with colors and shapes. The air thick with a perfect chill. It’s in this time that I would feel the most at peace. The first couple of times felt a little awkward and scary-

Once I got over the need to hear noise or create noise- I was able to just be. When you give yourself a chance to just be it allows you to be able to connect. It was in those moments that I would be filled with ideas, thoughts, and just understanding. It was in those moments that I was able to reflect and experience those aha moments. It was in those moments that I was able to hear God, feel God, and yearn for more of that connection. Now, I pride myself in taking those alone moments.

I guess what I am trying to say is it’s okay to not be “busy” all the time. It’s okay to tell people that you just can’t make it because you are choosing not to. It’s okay to just be. We don’t have to stay busy, we don’t have to keep our kids busy. Taking time to just be allows our inner creative parts to shine through without all the noise.

Sometimes we need those moments of quiet to reflect on where we are at in life, where we want to go, and choosing the path that we are going to take to get there. Sometimes we need those alone moments to acknowledge those inner thoughts and feelings because allowing ourselves to feel those feelings it may enable us to make a change that we have been trying to make.

I challenge you- one way to clear out your schedule is to block off time for social media… Maybe you say on Sunday night after the kids go to bed I will scroll though social media- I guarantee you will find yourself with hours of free time during the week. Maybe fill that time with a phone call to someone that you haven’t spoke to in real life. Maybe use that time to use for reading, maybe use that time for writing, taking a walk, or going on a bike ride. Clear your mind, body, and soul. Get rid of the need to always be present in everyone else’s life and start focusing more on your life and WHO’S you are-

We all need to do a better job at this.