There is a Time for Every Season
Too B.U.S.Y.
As one who has studied human behavior for years, I find it interesting to turn the tables and try to observe my own from time to time!
In recent years, I’ve noticed an increase barrage of daily posts, emails, invites, and online meetings coming across my desk.
So many invitations can pull us in different directions creating a whole lot of BUSY.
Simplifying life is top of my mind each season. This checking-in habit started during a crisis in my first year of marriage, when my husband lost his job due to the economy, and I was working part-time. We had $16.00 in the bank and no income for the foreseeable future. Weeks earlier we lost my father-in-law to a heart attack, and then my lost my grandmother. There were many new kinds of “firsts” to face that first year when we were 25 and 27.
At the time, we had no choice but to sell everything, move into a tiny one-bedroom apartment, return to university, and then find new ways of making a living since the old ways weren’t working. These were tight, tough, and trying times. Yet for some reason, many years later, we can only remember the good things – like the new friends we made, the shared times in our cozy kitchen studying, or the odd treat we had getting to eat at a local fast-food place once month.
Those days were formational for us a young couple and as professionals. The challenges we faced instilled a strong will in us to persevere against the odds and a greater awareness of what is important in life, because we didn’t have very much at the time! It spurred us on to embracing a simpler lifestyle with gratitude while focusing on who and what is most important to us. In many ways we still practice this today – even decades later.
When things get busy and we get distracted by being pulled in so many directions, we pull out our favorite questions that seem to help us get on track. My questions and reflections look like this:
What are you doing with your gift of time? Make a list. Don’t forget to add in all the “time wasters” especially if they are associated with technology!
Which of these are getting you off-track from your main goals and for the kind of person you want to be? Identify the ones that are the “issue”.
Which of these activities that you’ve committed to make you not the best version of yourself?
I know I need to regularly take steps to cut back and simplify my life because “busy” seems to creep in regularly and it has the tendency to steal valuable time.
I know need to spend more quiet time with God and make fond memories, with those I love and cherish, while still trying to serve in my community in valuable ways.
This post is a really a reminder to myself to remember to continue to hit the RESET button when I catch myself caught up in just being BUSY.
For me, that means I need to be intentionally aware of what to say “no” to or what to say “yes” to or even just “wait” a bit to decide. I’ll say yes to the choices where I’m given opportunities to invest in the things that are eternal, life giving, and soul nurturing and help me be the best version of myself - instead of grumpy. And on the days when the responsibilities that I am truly responsible for get me cranky, I’ll try to find ways to “readjust” my mindset and remember my priorities. This way I’m more able to serve with love, gratitude, compassion, and empathy along the way. And I’ll use a discernment process that helps me reflect and decide which way to go. This way I hope I’ll have better boundaries, more resilience, and stamina, and feel like I’m on the journey I’ve been called into.
Let me ask you...
What’s the purpose for why you are doing what you’re doing these days?
What discernment process do you use to determine where place your focus?
Be sure to share your reflections in the comments below...
This. All of this! Yes! Thanks for your wisdom, friend!