A couple of weeks ago, we took a morning trip to the local library. I got a great spot, right next to the parking toll machine. Also a great spot for everyone else going to the library to watch my unpacking process that looks more like a Chinese fire drill. Finally, with a double stroller packed with my 9 week old and my 19 month old, my 3 and 4 year olds alongside, we waited for our turn at the toll machine. A young mom behind us holding a toddler girl in her arms looked upon my bunch and commented, “Wow! Four boys?” I confirmed to her, “Yes, four boys!”
My 3-year old son Teddy, tilted his bright blond head, looked up at her with his big, blue eyes and nodded, saying, “Yeah…we’re busy.”
The first thing this story makes me do is laugh. The next thing I do is cringe. How many times had he heard his father and I use that word to describe our life? And what does it say to others?
“Busyness is the enemy.” This is what I read all over these days. It conveys a lack of priorites, no reverence for quiet time with God, no time for your friends and family.
But what if MY busy is WITH God? WITH my friends & family? Can I be busy AND have my priorities in line?
What is so wrong with being busy?
Time for Thesauras.com. What does busy really mean?
Engaged. Hard working. Diligent. Perserving. {Sounds good to me.}
Buried. Occupied. Overloaded. Slaving. Unavailable. {Um, not so good.}
So, maybe it shouldn’t be about the fact THAT we are busy, but WHAT we are busy with?
Or, if I look at those words above, the first ones (the good ones) convey action. The act of being busy.
But, the second ones (the not so good ones) are more the feeling of being busy.
I don’t hate being busy, I hate feeling busy.
If I’m really busy doing the things God has for me to do (i.e. be a loving wife, train up four young boys, serve in Marriage ministries, engage in the lives of my friends and family) and I’m looking for him to provide my direction as well as my energy, then I shouldn’t feel busy as I do busy. Right?
What are you busy with these days? Do you FEEL the busy? How do you stay in the DOING and not in the FEELING?
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