Sept. 10, 2014

Mark 6:45-46

Right then, Jesus made his disciples get into a boat and go ahead to the other side of the lake, toward Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.  After saying good-bye to them, Jesus went up onto a mountain to pray.

I’ve caught myself feeling hurried today. Feeling like the to-do list is really more than I want to tackle. Rather than forcefully prioritizing and making my way through the list, I distracted myself with mind-numbing activities. Until now.

Yesterday, I had a little revelation. There is a difference between being busy and being hurried.

Being busy is an outward condition, a condition of the body. It’s too many things to do in too little time; wondering how you will find the hours to finish tasks.

Hurried is an inner condition, a condition of the soul. When a person is hurried, he/she are so preoccupied with themselves that they are unable to be fully present; sometimes with others, themselves and always, God. Hurried people cannot be in the moment. As they focus on what will happen next, they fail to experience the moment now.

Most people I know are busy. Today, a retired woman described her life as very busy. It’s a common theme. Being busy is not always bad. Busy becomes a problem when busy-ness mitigates to hurriedness and we squeeze God out of our lives.

When I get closer to hurried, I take on small habits that frustrate me. I spend more time doing silly things than doing the important things. The more hurried I am, the more difficult it is to rest in God. My hurried soul doesn’t think it can find time to just be with God. I fill my moments with distractions from the most important things. Today, I paused. Took a few minutes. Reflected on hurriedness and jotted down a few thoughts.

I am amazed how Jesus kept his soul rested. He repeatedly slowed himself down to rest and often held his followers back so they would not become fatigued. He understood the power of sometimes doing nothing.

How good are you at doing nothing?

Our souls need rest. Sometimes, our souls need to do nothing, which in reality, does wonders for our inner and outer conditions.

Lord God, how easily we fill our days with good things. But we often fail to include time with you. When we approach hurriedness, help us stop and find an inner peace from you. Amen.

Blessings –

Dianne

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