One Of The Biggest Threats To Holiness
By Sarah Kozak
Life has been busy recently.
“Busy” doesn’t seem like a strong enough word though. ”Frantic”, “hectic”, “stressful”... Those all sound a bit more accurate. A revolving door of events, commitments, and never ending checklists with projects that all seemed to be due yesterday. And here I am through all of it, treading water and trying to down just enough coffee every morning to keep me going through another day.
I was sitting at my desk today sifting through emails that seemed to have no end while the sides of my brain pressed into my forehead, the telltale sign of an oncoming stress headache. Another email, another phone call, another meeting, and then onto the next thing... A typical day.
Isn’t it sad that most of us have grown used to being stressed, anxious, and sleep deprived? I don’t believe that Our Heavenly Father created us to live this way. So the question is, why do we? What is it that we are chasing that has led us to believe that this is how life should be? In my opinion, it’s pride. I personally love being told, “Wow, I don’t know how you manage it all!” I thrive off remarks like that. If I’m being honest, when I hear those words I interpret them as a challenge of, “Ok, how can I do even more to impress them?” Needless to say, it’s not healthy.
I’ve also begun noticing how stating that I’m busy has become the typical lead in for the majority of my conversations. Usually it goes something like: Friend: “How are you?” Me: “Good! Oh my gosh, so busy though...” I want to challenge you, sister, that next time someone asks you how you’re doing, don’t begin by saying how busy you are. You might be surprised at how much you catch yourself wanting to lead in with that line! We complain about how tired we are and probably drink more coffee and caffeinated drinks than any other culture in history. And yet, rather than cutting back, we find glory in the busyness. Rather than taking opportunities to do less, we’re constantly trying to figure out how to add in more.
We all too often fall into the trap of finding our worth, our motivation, and our sense of accomplishment based on how much we are involved in. In fact, imagine if you were to ask how someone is doing and they were to respond with something like, “Oh really good! I’ve been trying to cut back on my schedule recently and slow down. Its been so joyful and rejuvenating.” You would most likely be caught off guard because the truth is, as much as we complain how we can’t catch a break, we idolize productivity.
Leisure and going through life without rushing to the next thing is almost becoming foreign in our culture. I went on a trip to Medjugorje last year, and while I was there, I had a conversation with a guy around my age who was a native of the town, swapping stories about life and cultural differences. When he said that he had been to the States before, I asked him if he would ever move to America. He immediately responded with “No” and when I asked him why, he said, “You all go too fast.” I’ve pondered his response quite a bit since coming back, but after wandering the streets of that quiet little town and now comparing it with the never ending rush I’ve launched myself back into, I’ve been realizing more and more how right he was.
We all too often now equate busyness with our value. We rarely take time to pause and speak to strangers we encounter throughout our day or to be present to those we love around us. Our culture is saturated with programs, books, and talks about how to accomplish more and more in our day. Scheduling our weeks out to the “-nth degree” to fill up every single second with productivity... But never has doing more become so confused with being more.
God usually does His greatest work in those moments when we pause and are present enough to notice His all-encompassing presence touching every aspect of who we are and allowing Him to be what fills and satisfies us. It is from there that we are then able to take a step forward and accomplish what He is calling us to. But we must first begin by slowing down. Taking a quiet walk through nature, a journaling session in front of a fireplace, a moment when you pause, look at your family, and smile as you just take a moment to appreciate how grateful you are for them.
Now I’m not advocating that we should throw our responsibilities into the wind and go become full-time recreational surfers in Hawaii (...as enticing as that sounds). Our primary responsibility in this life, is to carry out the mission that the Lord has planned for us in order to be in Heaven with Him someday. Of course there will be moments when you are busy, He put us on this earth to accomplish great and beautiful things in His name! But there is a difference between running ourselves to the ground to win the praise of others versus seeing every moment of our life as being sacred and full of joy- both work and leisure, and treating them as such.
St. Vincent de Paul knew what it meant to be busy. As a French priest, he created a worldwide movement to serve the poor and also founded and two religious communities to assist him in his work. And yet, this man could still recognize the difference between what God was calling him to versus taking on too much. He once said, “It is a ruse of the devil, by which he deceives good people, to induce them to do more than they are able, so that they end up not being able to do anything. The Spirit of God urges one gently to do the good that can be done perseveringly and for a long time.” -St. Vincent de Paul.
God doesn’t look at the number of emails you send in a day or the amount of coffee dates you can fit in a week. All He truly cares about is the amount of love with which we go about our day-to-day life. Do not allow the mad rush of the current culture convince you otherwise! Rather, make a commitment to slow down long enough to savor all of the beautiful moments throughout each day. Because as seen in the book of Kings, God’s presence was not found in the wind, earthquake, or fire...but in the still, small voice. (1 Kings 19:11-13) Are you too busy to hear Him?
