Balancing Busy
Proverbs 4:25 Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Have you seen that quote that says, “Stop the Glorification of Busy?” I love it. In our society today, everyone is so busy. Everyone’s schedule is so rushed and hectic and frantic, and it seems like people are proud of it. Sitting in Starbuck’s and listening to conversations, you’ll hear over and over again, “I know… I’m SO busy.” “Life is just crazy right now…” It’s become a badge of honor for so many of us. A look of “look at me and how much I’m able to manage well!” The thing is, that isn’t what God asked us to be. He didn’t command us to be busy. People comment to me over and over again that I’m extremely busy, and they’re right. Like a lot of women, I’m a mom, a wife, a business owner, a daughter, a sister, and a friend. My career has me juggling a nontraditional schedule in the midst of that. Typical workdays may see me meeting with nonprofit organizations, painting angels, overseeing product development, giving approval or making changes on marketing pieces, traveling to tradeshows, engaging in book signings… it can be overwhelming. Let’s just agree right now: WE ARE ALL BUSY. It’s the pace of the world we’re living in. No matter whether your busy involves staying home and chasing toddlers around the house, juggling a slew of freelance clients, bustling in a about the kitchen in a restaurant or seeing patients all day, our busies look different, but we all have them. The key is balancing the busy. It’s all-too-easy to get caught up in the madness of a whirling schedule, and if we get caught up in the doing, we miss the Kingdom perspective God wants for us. God equipped each of us with unique gifts to accomplish and thrive in the busy roles He appointed us to, and we set our eyes on pleasing Him, the edge of craze can calm, so we can busy but balanced. My dad has said before, “You’ve always been the type of person that is always juggling, and you have so many balls in the air, but just like a juggler, they all fall down in place at the perfect timing.” He’s right. They do… as long as my eyes are fixed, not on the balls, but on the Creator. When I slide my eyes off of Him, inevitably I lose control and all the balls hit at the most inopportune times. When we reprioritize our mind, our hearts, and our busyness, and really focus on the true reason we’re doing our tasks – to glorify the One who made us – our hearts will shift, and our busyness will be an overflow of the love in our hearts… a show of sacrificial service to those we love most, not just a list of tasks meant to fill our time. What is keeping you busy this week, and what is driving you?