I love the game “2 Truths and a Lie” for getting to know people and their stories. Here’s one for this month’s blog:
We rarely stop.
We can’t get to know God “on the fly.”
Busyness and efficiency equal worth.
As I write this, I’m reading in my sitting room, but thinking to myself, “I am supposed to be working on my 4-7-8 breathing, shoulder physical therapy, loving God and loving others, directing a school, writing a blog, pouring into my grandson, six children, and daughter-in-law, all in the midst of trying to keep my carport clean, grass mowed, and the top of my fridge not dusty.” Impossible. I must ACTIVELY tell my brain to stay here…where my body is.
All these things running through my mind disconnect me from the present. We rarely stop—unless we PLAN a stop. We have so drunk the Kool-aid of multi-tasking, that to only do one thing at a time feels lazy, even wasteful. What if we leaned in to “SEQUENTIAL MONOTASKING” as a way of life? What if our minds were RIGHT WHERE OUR BODIES ARE? We regularly do 2 things (or more) at a time. Candy Crush or Connections in the bathtub. Talking on the phone while stirring pasta and unloading the dishwasher. It’s insane—AND our normal way of life. And it’s the life we’re modeling for our children: they will catch the expectation of being busy from US.
Early each morning I sink into the stillness and quiet of my sitting room before anyone else stirs. Contemplation is quiet. Attention is hard. Our brains have been rewired by our tether to technology for action and distraction—we are more comfortable with that than the quiet. We are pulled in so many directions all at once. And it’s true: we CAN’T get to know God “on the fly.” To slot God in when we can is not to KNOW Him—and since we were made to bring God glory, knowing Him is the first step. I could give you lots of tricks and tips on slowing down, on getting rid of hurry, but unless our reason for doing it is to know the God who knit you together in your mother’s womb, who is majestic and sovereign and GOOD, and who provides for our salvation—well, those habits might help you live a slower more intentional life, but to what end? Our WHY matters.
We answer the question, “How are you doing?” with “Oh you know, I’m good, just busy,” constantly, as if busyness and efficiency are badges to attain to give evidence to our worthiness. We are LOVED; we are God’s CHILDREN—our adoption as sons and daughters makes us worthy. “Nothing in my hand I bring. Simply to thy cross I cling,” says the old hymn. If you think about the way of Jesus, it is slow. He was so present to himself, his surroundings, and his Father, that he had time to stop for the leper; he felt the power leave him in the marketplace when the woman touched him; he wept for his friend Lazarus, even knowing he would call him forth from the tomb. Over and over in the Bible Jesus SEES the men and women he is near: the woman at the well, Mary and Martha, his 12 disciples, Peter. I don’t imagine Jesus ever rushed around in all his 33 years. He had a sense of purpose and calling and was present to the moment and the people surrounding him. His mind and body were in the same place, and he was paying attention to people.
I want to follow Jesus so closely that two things happen: I want to step from this life to the next without it being all that dramatic (let me live for eternity now—and when death comes for me, may I simply step from this life to the next and it not be jarring to my soul.) Secondly, I want the adage to be true, “May you be covered in the dust of your rabbi.” I want to follow him so very closely, that his dust gets on my life…that my life and how I spend my time, money, and resources mimic how Jesus lived.
But to follow Jesus THAT closely, I’ve had to slow down. “No” is a welcome word in my vocabulary. Sabbath is a part of my week, 24 hours of intentional slowing: good food, fellowship around the table, reading, napping, walking, breathing, puzzling… I practice patience by getting in the slowest lane when I exit College Dr. off I-10 and am turning left, or when I’m merging from College to Lee where it goes from two lanes to one, or when I’m setting my cruise control on the speed limit and not worrying about a ticket or hurrying. It’s interesting: we just think these fruits of the spirit are going to magically appear in our lives one day—SOME DAY we will be full of love and patience and gentleness, but it makes so much more sense to practice them AND to pray that the Lord leans our hearts in those directions(love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control).
We all have a “hurry sickness” in the west. We are addicted to hurry and being busy 24/7. A professor once told me, “Busyness is the narcotic of the soul.” I have hurried for many years in my life, doing lots of things all at the same time, filling up my calendar squares so that I had no margin whatsoever (a friend at my former church said that she felt like she had to go take a nap after hearing about my life when we got together—I was dense and didn’t recognize the point she was actually making!). But recognizing our addiction to hurry lets us slow down and think deeply about it: what price am I paying for all this activity? Am I living out my values and spending my time on things that matter? What about my relationship with the Lord? Am I trying to get to know God on the fly?
Your worth is NOT tied to your calendar or the number of things you fit into a 24-hour period. You belong to Jesus. And He thought you were worthy enough to die for.
Join our Moms Coffee and Conversation this coming Monday to talk about this more and to see how HURRY is connected to PRIDE.
Click HERE to listen to two authors I love discuss how to eliminate hurry.
