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| An outdoor Prayer Labyrinth |
When I was younger, I never thought I'd end up this way. I thought I would be better than others, and rise above such craziness. Alas, I have to admit the sad truth: Our family uses a color coded calendar in our home.
Oh, I could blame it on my wife Angela, who keeps it up and makes me write my events on it, but really, that's just because she's more responsible than I am. I actually like it, a lot. It's incredibly helpful, because even though our oldest child is only 5, and even though my wife works full time in the home; we somehow fill our schedule with meetings, volunteer groups, school events and soccer games. It's not as full as it could be or as it probably will be when the kids are older, but it's surely bad enough. In one sense it's a sign of blessing, because our life allows us to provide these opportunities to our children and participate in the type of events we enjoy. BUT it is also a sign of something else less healthy or helpful. That something else being the glorification of "busyness".
Now if your not familiar with the glorification of busyness, plenty of folks have written far more eloquently than I can or care to so please Google and read their fine work :). However, it's really self-explanatory. We admire busyness and activity, we feel good when we are active and so we fill our lives and the lives of our families with activities until they are bursting. It's like a type of materialism for the way we use our time. More is better, busier is better and so on.
I could say a more, but let me write that for my own part, I worry about how busy I like to be. I come from a family that values effort and hard-work even if that work is mostly in white collar settings. I value my own work ethic as a pastor, husband and father. To be still and not doing something, at work or around the house, is laziness and to be busy is good. So I happily will fill my days with something and get antsy when I am doing "nothing".
Yet as followers of Jesus we are called to places of rest, called to do nothing. We are called to stop, all the busyness, all the activity, and all the work for times of prayer, quiet and Sabbath (rest). This goes back to the Ten Commandments and the call of God to honor the Sabbath. The command is not just about proper worship but about the faith we have in God to provide. The ancient people of God trusted that there was enough so that they could rest for one day a week from their labors and not starve to death, even though that was a real threat. We are called to trust that we too can rest from our busyness and know that our lives will not fall apart. God will provide enough meaning, enough purpose, enough self-worth that we don't have to run ourselves into the ground to find it. To keep some of the calender clear for nothing is an act of faith and one we like those before are called to do.
Now don't let nothing become another activity on the list. Another color coded event on the calendar, other you're twisting the gift into a task. Rather, let this be an invitation to reorganize and simplify your life, and the life of our family, so that you live a more balanced, less hectic and dare I say a more holy schedule. Let me give a few suggestions of what this might entail. I admit this list reflects my own reality of being married with children, but if nothing else it may spark an idea for you.
Stop for prayer and/or meditation
Make space for prayer, be it verbal or non-verbal. Pray in the morning for the day ahead, pray at night for what you've accomplished and to let go of what you couldn't. Pray in the middle of the day for strength and endurance. Or if you prefer, take 1 full minute to breath, be quiet and say nothing. Prayer is about being with God whether we speak or not. In Matthew 6 we are called to go into our inner room. Sometimes that's the interior of a car in parking lot without saying a word and that's okay. If'd like a little more about meditative prayer: go here.
Stop for rest/quiet
Make space for rest. To rush from event to event is not healthy. Now some days you have to run all day, but if that's having several days a week, you're heading for trouble. This will lead to burnout, stress, health issues, anger and frustration that will be taken out on those you love the most, even though all you trying to do is make their life "better". Take a day to do nothing, or hardly anything, or take a half day, or star with 4 hours a week if you have to. Take time to sit around the home you pay so much to own or rent, and imagine this: do something you actually enjoy! Our church usually only has worship on Sunday mornings and may very rarely add on a lunch event after, but that's it. In this way, we try to keep the Sabbath holy, but also keep it for the rest we have been given by the God we gather to worship.
Stop for your faith
We trust in a God who promises to provide enough so that we may live and also enjoy some peace and rest. This is hard belief to actually live out though. Now I know there are some folks that genuinely live on the edge of poverty, homelessness and hunger and I don't want to deny their need to work to survive and I will not judge them for doing what for necessary. For many of us though, we live with the wealth that allows us to choose rest and peace, if we are willing to commit to it. This may mean one less activity or a few less possessions but it's worth it in the end. If we trust in God to provide, then we should trust in God to provide! Not in our own work or business. By doing so, we may also find ways to help provide enough for those families who genuinely struggle.
Stop for your family
When's the last time you had dinner with your spouse or kids. When's the last time you had tickle fight with your toddler :). Or if your single, when's the last time you ate with friends or had a good conversation with them. We are models for those whom we parent and can be one for those who know us. The way we live our lives can be a way of showing what makes us different as disciples of Jesus Christ. Does your life actually do that? Does your life reflect the love you feel for your family and friends? Does your life reflect the values you have as a Christian? What if you took five minutes a day to be with them in prayer or reflection. What kind of impact could that have, to see go here. What if you took time to have dinner with your spouse once a week, no phones, no events, just you two? What if you took time to hang out with your friends and connect in the same way? Would if change your life? Might be worth a try.
Now, I just spent at least an hour trying to write and edit a blog on the need to stop and rest from business, such is the irony of life. I genuinely hope though that you can find places of quiet and peace in the midst of your busy schedule. You may have to be intentional about it, because the world will always point you towards more. Our family is trying and doing the best we can. But if you can resist such temptations, if you don't let the color coded calendar take over your life, you might just find a balance that makes your life truly fuller and more enjoyable. You may make others wonder why you seem so much calmer, happier and less frantic than all the busy people that rush through this life we've been given. May God Bless you with peace and quiet and a faith that says "I can stop, I have enough."
Oh, I could blame it on my wife Angela, who keeps it up and makes me write my events on it, but really, that's just because she's more responsible than I am. I actually like it, a lot. It's incredibly helpful, because even though our oldest child is only 5, and even though my wife works full time in the home; we somehow fill our schedule with meetings, volunteer groups, school events and soccer games. It's not as full as it could be or as it probably will be when the kids are older, but it's surely bad enough. In one sense it's a sign of blessing, because our life allows us to provide these opportunities to our children and participate in the type of events we enjoy. BUT it is also a sign of something else less healthy or helpful. That something else being the glorification of "busyness".
Now if your not familiar with the glorification of busyness, plenty of folks have written far more eloquently than I can or care to so please Google and read their fine work :). However, it's really self-explanatory. We admire busyness and activity, we feel good when we are active and so we fill our lives and the lives of our families with activities until they are bursting. It's like a type of materialism for the way we use our time. More is better, busier is better and so on.
I could say a more, but let me write that for my own part, I worry about how busy I like to be. I come from a family that values effort and hard-work even if that work is mostly in white collar settings. I value my own work ethic as a pastor, husband and father. To be still and not doing something, at work or around the house, is laziness and to be busy is good. So I happily will fill my days with something and get antsy when I am doing "nothing".
Yet as followers of Jesus we are called to places of rest, called to do nothing. We are called to stop, all the busyness, all the activity, and all the work for times of prayer, quiet and Sabbath (rest). This goes back to the Ten Commandments and the call of God to honor the Sabbath. The command is not just about proper worship but about the faith we have in God to provide. The ancient people of God trusted that there was enough so that they could rest for one day a week from their labors and not starve to death, even though that was a real threat. We are called to trust that we too can rest from our busyness and know that our lives will not fall apart. God will provide enough meaning, enough purpose, enough self-worth that we don't have to run ourselves into the ground to find it. To keep some of the calender clear for nothing is an act of faith and one we like those before are called to do.
Now don't let nothing become another activity on the list. Another color coded event on the calendar, other you're twisting the gift into a task. Rather, let this be an invitation to reorganize and simplify your life, and the life of our family, so that you live a more balanced, less hectic and dare I say a more holy schedule. Let me give a few suggestions of what this might entail. I admit this list reflects my own reality of being married with children, but if nothing else it may spark an idea for you.
Stop for prayer and/or meditation
Make space for prayer, be it verbal or non-verbal. Pray in the morning for the day ahead, pray at night for what you've accomplished and to let go of what you couldn't. Pray in the middle of the day for strength and endurance. Or if you prefer, take 1 full minute to breath, be quiet and say nothing. Prayer is about being with God whether we speak or not. In Matthew 6 we are called to go into our inner room. Sometimes that's the interior of a car in parking lot without saying a word and that's okay. If'd like a little more about meditative prayer: go here.
Stop for rest/quiet
Make space for rest. To rush from event to event is not healthy. Now some days you have to run all day, but if that's having several days a week, you're heading for trouble. This will lead to burnout, stress, health issues, anger and frustration that will be taken out on those you love the most, even though all you trying to do is make their life "better". Take a day to do nothing, or hardly anything, or take a half day, or star with 4 hours a week if you have to. Take time to sit around the home you pay so much to own or rent, and imagine this: do something you actually enjoy! Our church usually only has worship on Sunday mornings and may very rarely add on a lunch event after, but that's it. In this way, we try to keep the Sabbath holy, but also keep it for the rest we have been given by the God we gather to worship.
Stop for your faith
We trust in a God who promises to provide enough so that we may live and also enjoy some peace and rest. This is hard belief to actually live out though. Now I know there are some folks that genuinely live on the edge of poverty, homelessness and hunger and I don't want to deny their need to work to survive and I will not judge them for doing what for necessary. For many of us though, we live with the wealth that allows us to choose rest and peace, if we are willing to commit to it. This may mean one less activity or a few less possessions but it's worth it in the end. If we trust in God to provide, then we should trust in God to provide! Not in our own work or business. By doing so, we may also find ways to help provide enough for those families who genuinely struggle.
Stop for your family
When's the last time you had dinner with your spouse or kids. When's the last time you had tickle fight with your toddler :). Or if your single, when's the last time you ate with friends or had a good conversation with them. We are models for those whom we parent and can be one for those who know us. The way we live our lives can be a way of showing what makes us different as disciples of Jesus Christ. Does your life actually do that? Does your life reflect the love you feel for your family and friends? Does your life reflect the values you have as a Christian? What if you took five minutes a day to be with them in prayer or reflection. What kind of impact could that have, to see go here. What if you took time to have dinner with your spouse once a week, no phones, no events, just you two? What if you took time to hang out with your friends and connect in the same way? Would if change your life? Might be worth a try.
Now, I just spent at least an hour trying to write and edit a blog on the need to stop and rest from business, such is the irony of life. I genuinely hope though that you can find places of quiet and peace in the midst of your busy schedule. You may have to be intentional about it, because the world will always point you towards more. Our family is trying and doing the best we can. But if you can resist such temptations, if you don't let the color coded calendar take over your life, you might just find a balance that makes your life truly fuller and more enjoyable. You may make others wonder why you seem so much calmer, happier and less frantic than all the busy people that rush through this life we've been given. May God Bless you with peace and quiet and a faith that says "I can stop, I have enough."
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