How is it that the distractions of every day life can sneak up and steal away the joy of living? My days are filled with rushing around, multi-tasking & overall information over-load. I try to support my friends, plan the dinner menu, schedule the pick up times for my kid & balance the checkbook – all while preparing loan documents that need to be ready in 12 minutes. My brain is seldom ever thinking of only one thing at a time. So on the rare occasion that I get some time to myself – like yesterday – and my soul starts to wake up a little bit…well…it freaks me out a little.
Yesterday I actually found myself thinking about something deeper than fund raisers, interest rates or paint colors. It felt good & scary all at the same time. I think when my soul shuts down I kick into neutral. I numb myself to what’s really going on around me. I turn away from the issues that need attention and justify it because of my busy schedule. But I slowed down for a day & soaked in some life-giving stuff. There was scripture, prayer, good music and a book. There were conversations with friends and laughter with my son. Turns out the Sabbath thing…a really good idea – even on a Wednesday.
Some random things I chewed on:
The election. The government. Why can’t people be just as passionate about the God who created them as they are about the government who controls them? I can’t get past the story of Nehemiah. He recognized the problems of his day too. But God burdened his heart in such a way that he couldn’t do anything else but try to fix them. I want my heart to be burdened like that. I don’t want to complain about something that I’m not willing to help fix.
What’s the best way to be Jesus to people? We talk about that a lot. What should it look like? He met needs. He loved the unlovable. He challenged the religious community. Am I doing that???
Why do people have to complicate the simple?
What is the best side dish to go along with chicken & dumplings? Ok. So they weren’t all so philosophical.
But I went back to the routine of work today. I ran errands on my lunch break, made phone calls in route to picking up Ethan, fixed dinner, wrapped birthday presents. Stuff. By 5pm I could feel my soul shutting down again. The important reminders of yesterday were getting drowned out by the mundane of today. So I’m writing it down. After I’m done I’m going to read some more and maybe tomorrow I won’t be able to ignore this burden on my heart as easily. Maybe I’ll actually do something about it.
