Busyness is not a Spiritual Gift
“Busyness is not a spiritual gift.”
From an interview with
~ Lisa Harper ~
Years ago when chatting with a girlfriend, I marveled over the fact that her and her husband would sit on the couch together at night and watch television. I couldn’t comprehend them having nothing to do at night. My husband and I were ALWAYS busy. If he wasn’t tinkering around in the garage or working in the yard, he was doing something else. He rarely had time just to sit.
It’s the same today as it was when we first got married 15 years ago. We always have a project in the works, a to-do list too long to even see the end of. My mind is always racing with new ideas, activities and project. I never have enough time to do all I want to do.
And let’s not even talk about all the added busyness four children bring to our already busy life. There’s baseball, soccer, gymnastics, and driving kids to and from homeschool activities.
I often wonder though, how much of my busyness keeps me from hearing God. Really hearing Him. Even when I do find a quiet moment to be still before Him, my mind is racing with things I need to do or story plots.
Busyness is not a spiritual gift, but it is a by product of our society mixed with God’s purpose for our life. God made me and my husband this way for a reason. We’re the ones who get things done, and God needs people like that. He needs Marthas. He’s created us this way for a reason.
Yet, the struggle is to find the balance of being who God created us to be without going overboard and getting so busy we forget the Creator.
I haven’t found the secret, or the balance to this yet, but I’m learning.
One great thing about our personalities is that there is a fail safe mechanism. It’s called Burn Out. And when we do burn out, it’s good to know that God will be there ready to pick us up and refresh us.
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Really enjoyed your post, thanks for sharing.
April 24th, 2007 at 2:38 pmI’m half laughing, you know watching tv isn’t always a nothing thing, it can be annoying too! Laziness sometimes get the best of us ~ at least that’s the excuse I’ll admit to~ though sometimes it’s to slow down from the world! I’m still working on a balance as well!
April 24th, 2007 at 7:44 pmThat balance is so hard to find. As someone who usually takes on too much myself, I can relate. The book I mentioned, “Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World” has provided me with so many insights. I highly recommend it! Thanks for posting!
April 25th, 2007 at 3:15 pmBefore I had children I’d often complain about being frustrated in my ‘paid’ job and not having enough time to do all the things I love and develop and grow as a person.
Other colleagues would say they really didn’t know what they’d do with their time if they didn’t ‘work’. Well, I guess if your work is your life and something you love doing, then I can understand.
When I became a full-time Mum I found a job I love. I still don’t have all the time in the world to explore my passions, but with my children I am given more freedom to learn, as they learn. I tinker on the piano, I experiment in the kitchen, I play the guitar (badly - but the children don’t mind!), I paint, sing, dance, read beautiful stories every day and am forever learning and growing. I am so blessed.
April 27th, 2007 at 2:20 am