Busy, Busy

I’ve heard that saying “If the devil can’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy.” I can relate. All-too-often my days begin by rushing my daughter off to school, then dropping off my son at preschool for a few hours while I go to my part-time job, or try to cross a few things off my to-do list. After I pick up my son, we go to the grocery store, then after we get home I fix him lunch, unpack the groceries, answer the phone a few times, and then put him down for a nap while I return some calls or start a load of laundry. Whew! I end up emotionally and physically spent by 2:00pm. Sometimes I have started the day off as I wish–by reading the Bible and spending some time in quiet prayer–but other mornings begin with a child who woke up sooner than expected or a forgotten school form that needs to be completed before my daughter catches the bus and that time with God is pushed aside. Whether or not I have checked off my quiet time box, I certainly am not following the intent of spending time with my Lord:

But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

Psalm 1:2

Instead, it’s a bit more like this:

So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.

Romans 7:21-23

Busyness definitely makes me feel like a prisoner, captured by the urgent which causes me to sometimes ignore the important things like spending time with my family, encouraging a friend with a note or a call, or turning my heart towards God throughout the day in thanks and praise and petitions. If my mind is preoccupied with other tasks it is hard for me to actively show love to God, my family, my enemies, and others who cross my path each day. Being busy oftentimes causes me to forget to be thankful and can allow bitterness or self-defense to take hold.

To stay in the right frame of mind, I try to remind myself what is important. If I dread doing it each week, perhaps it’s something that should be dropped from my schedule (and no, as much as I hate mopping, I can’t permanently cross it off my list of responsibilities). There are things that I managed to pare down from last year to this so that I haven’t been blindsided by the stress that comes about from the busyness of a new school year, a new soccer season, and a new session of ministry work. I am thankful that I listened to that feeling of dread and bowed out of some of my commitments. Yes, I’m still busy. Yes, there are days and weeks when the laundry piles up and the dustbunnies colonize the corners. But in general, I’m listening to the Master Planner.

The result of a day or a week or a season planned by God will hopefully enable me to respond in this way:

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me–put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:7-9

What about you? Does busyness steal your joy? How do you strike the balance of doing what must be done and avoiding the stress of overwork?