Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Calendars Don't Impress Me Much

I love calendars! It's the type A in me. I love organizing, being organized and staying organized. I love to see dates on the calendar...past, present and future. I love calendars so much that I have several going at any given time. I know...none of this aligns with the title of this post, but please...read on.

You see, I've been noticing for a while now how people constantly talk about how they are too busy. Too busy with meetings, play dates, kid's schedules, work, etc. And it's often said in the vein of an apology. "I'm sorry, but I am too busy to {have dinner, hang out, help with, call}.

All this busyness has gotten me to thinking...is it OK to be too busy?

I've been guilty of being too busy. Not with things that shouldn't fill my time...busy with good things. Bible study. Charity work. Crafts. Cleaning house. Organizing. Being Mom. Life gets busy.

But conviction comes when our busyness takes the place of friendships, serving others, and being available in times of need. I think we flaunt our calendars (and busyness) because it makes us feel important, needed and significant. We think the busier we are, the more important we must be. Oh, how deceived we are.

Being too busy just means we aren't good at setting boundaries. We take on too much and crowd out the important things in life. We say "yes" when we should say "no" because we don't want to offend, burden, anger. We allow our calendars to choke out family time, rest time, worship time, etc. Ultimately, we find that our calendars are choking us.

I've taken this challenge seriously, and I offer it to you. Stop filling in all that blank space on the calendar. Be OK with a non-scheduled day and be available to those around you whether it be your kids, spouse, coworkers, friends or neighbors. Find your signifigance in Christ—the Father of Time—and not in your calendar. Then you will realize your importance comes from Him and not the things that fill your days.

1 comment:

Lorie said...

It has been brought to my attention through about three Bible studies that being too busy is not okay as it is our relationship with Christ that suffers the most. I am, by no stretch of the imagination, as bad as everyone else saying I'm too busy but I do have to say that I'm working on it. Oh, and lets remember...the more time we give Christ...the more time He gives us! Thanks for the reminder Cristina!