3 Freeing Truths to Fight Busyness

If you’ve been joining me here for a while, you might remember my keyword for 2017: Simplicity.

How’s that going for me? I’ll admit: not the way I’d planned. Truth is that I’m busier than ever. In fact, each month adds something new to my never-ending list. Maybe you can relate.

How do we fight against the bully of busyness? I wish I could outline three steps to a simpler life, but I’m on this journey with you. However, here are some freeing truths I’m discovering that may help us keep life in perspective.

#1: My best doesn’t have to be perfect.

Oh, trust me, I want it to be. I finished my first content edit for The Revisionary this weekend and even after pressing “send” on the email to my editor, I found myself worrying I missed something.

Then, I stopped and laughed. I’m sure I did! But if there’s an omitted Oxford comma, or if I could have substituted a few more synonyms for my ‘weasel’ words, the world won’t end.

God doesn’t ask for perfect. He asks for obedience. One of my favorite verses is Micah 6:8, which speaks this liberating truth so well.

He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God? (NKJV)

Sure, do your best, but trust God for the results.

#2: Interruptions are opportunities.

Ouch. This one is really hard. I’m a planner, and if something isn’t on my calendar, it probably isn’t going to happen.

But then I get a phone call or a text message. Or my neighbor stops me during my run to frantically ask if I’ve seen her missing dog. (See last week’s post to become more intentional in loving our neighbors.)

These are opportunities, or perhaps reminders from God, that life isn’t about me and my agenda.

Even though I can’t unpack the busyness out of my schedule, I can press pause and allow God room to work.

#3: God’s best is different than expected, and that’s okay. It’s better.

Has your life ever taken a U-turn? Maybe you thought you had the future figured out, and all of a sudden, your dreams deflate. Life hands you lemons.

Many of us think that if we just work hard enough or wait long enough, we can blow the air back into our balloons and squeeze lemonade out of the lemons. But what we often fail to see is that the “mess” is God’s plan. Even though we may not recognize it at first, there’s beauty and design right here, right now.

In her book I Don’t Wait Anymore, Grace Thornton shares why we shouldn’t wait for our pre-planned lives to materialize but instead embrace the life God’s given us today.

“And because I know it’s Him [God], I trust that whatever happens isn’t ruining my story—it’s actually writing the story He wants me to write. And that’s the one that’s filled with the most joy” (108).

Joy. Right where you are. Right where I am. Don’t waste the present because it’s not perfect. (There’s that word again.)

Finding Simplicity in the Busyness

Simplicity is still my theme this year and something I treasure. Sunsets and Saturday pizza with my family are the types of things I like best.

However, I can’t avoid the busyness of life. There are people to love, tasks to do, deadlines to meet, and commitments to keep. No matter how I try to free up my calendar, more “stuff” fills the white space.

Since I can’t escape a full schedule, I pray God will give me the grace to handle my heaping plate with joy.

How do you fight the bully of busyness? Do you have a favorite Scripture that keeps life in perspective for you? Please share as a comment below.

Kristen

 

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