Do you ever feel like life is just a process of survival? Aging is just a means of gaining the skills to breathe a little deeper each day. If there is anything I have learned in my process of becoming a yoga teacher, it is that I never again want to be so busy that I can’t enjoy life.
Busyness has always been my worst enemy.
It has always distracted me from the color and fullness of life, the purpose and creativity of individuality, the tenderness of family, the beauty of God. I get so wrapped up in the disciplines and responsibilities of life that all things blur together into a gray haze that covers my brain and dampens my mood. I want to sleep in late on Saturdays with my husband. I want to eat dinner by candlelight. I want to take a prayer walk with God. Yet at this stage in my life, there are too many other distractions in my schedule. When you see the big picture and bring the important things into focus, it’s hard to justify the reasons for them. Whoever said it was wrong to live a simple life?
When I was younger, elder people would tell me I should feel guilty for being bored. The pressures of not doing enough for God coupled with not doing enough to further your personal success fed to us from our Western society, has brought me into this gray haze.
Wow! This has always been my biggest battle. I thought moving to Africa and leaving all my responsibilities behind would help me with this. I do have a maid after all. But life just keeps on speeding by. There are never enough hours in a day. Mainly it’s the kids that keep me busy and I don’t see any getting around that for the next 18 years! Getting to sleep in until 7 on a Saturday is a luxury. There’s really not much in my schedule I can weed out at this point. I feel guilty telling Haley to go play by herself so I can get some quiet time in with God while Zeke is sleeping. At the same time its important for her to see me make this a priority. But I must remember that the kids will only be little for a short time. I want to enjoy every minute of this busy life.
The best thing I can think of to answer that question is to do what Jesus said, ” to seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you”. In other words, if we put the important things first, God will give us the things we need without us stressing out. A lot of people are busy but not happy, but others are very busy with the things of God, and are very happy. The world has plenty of things to distract us from what is important. We need to get rid of the clutter, and focus on the important things. Of course parents of young children don’t have much time to themselves, and it is hard. God will give us the extra strength if we stay close to Him.
Good thoughts.
Is it true though, that we as Christians can be distracted even by the work of the Lord? Sometimes we can get consumed by the many events and programs of the church that we just become workers and not worshippers. What do you think?
Yes, I think that is possible. We all need to watch out for that, and stay focused on worshiping God. That’s why we need to put God first, instead of all the things we think we are doing for God.
One of the hardest tensions I know of. I’m constantly at odds with this one. The moment I get too busy to slow down and be a human, I’m convicted. Then the moment I’m allowing myself and not do work, I feel judged and/or lazy. So basically- if you find the right balance for this, let me know! I’d love to know the secret. 🙂
I’m still working on it too, Stephen but I was encouraged by someone this year to include a category entitled “Life Balance” in my yearly goals. This is something I could give up that would make my life less crazy. I loved it! I didn’t feel so guilty thinking of it like that, with the goal being for more balance and calm in life.