I don’t know about you, but this tends to be my answer when people ask me how I am doing. Between being a husband, father of four kids, pastor, son, friend, etc, there are many things that have a pull on my life. When someone asks, “How are you doing?” The easiest thing to say is, “Busy, but good.”
Personally, I don’t mind being busy. In fact, I can find myself thriving on it. The way my mind works is that it’s constantly bouncing from one idea to the next, from one project to the next. So when I have my plate nice and full, I do not mind. To be completely honest, I sometimes wonder if I could possibly add some more things on there as well.
I remember back when I was in college, I was starting to add more and more things to my schedule. My parents sat me down and did an exercise with me where they printed off a weekly calendar and had me fill in everything I was doing and all the time it would take me to complete each task to its fullest. After filling up the entire calendar, I discovered that I had 15 minutes of undesignated time each week. To which I jokingly said, “I guess that means that I can add one more thing, right?”
Obviously, what I truly realized was that I had crammed my calendar full and left no margin of time in my life. I knew that I was going to have to take a step back and really evaluate what I was doing and find ways to better manage what I had to do. Ultimately, I was going to have to cut some things out. Not because they were bad in and of themselves, but because it wasn’t the best “yes” I could give. I have heard it said that by saying “yes” to one thing, we are saying “no” to something else. Saying “no” is not a bad thing, and in fact, saying “no” can be healthy.
Now we all go through seasons that are busier than others. But did you notice there is one role that I forgot to include in my list of roles in the first paragraph? I didn’t put “a child of God.” Why? Because when my schedule gets full, what is the easiest thing to start putting to the side? I don’t know about you, but when I get busy, I can start to put God on the side. Not that I forget about Him, or neglect Him, but I find myself not putting Him first.
God doesn’t want to just be an afterthought. He wants us to put Him first. Now, before I add things to my calendar, I try (I’m definitely not perfect at this) to stop to ask God if I should or not. He wants to be involved in our entire lives. What I will tell you is that when we ask God for an answer, we better be ready to act on it. We are called to listen and obey Him.
Remember, His ways are not our ways. But His ways are so much better than our ways will ever be. How do you know what His will is for your life? By spending time with Him everyday. Don’t fill your schedule up so much that you leave Him out of it.
Being “busy” is not a badge of honor to wear. We must always be evaluating where God wants us to go and what He wants us to do. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else. Just keep seeking God in everything you do.
