When Busyness Numbs What Matters Most

You could say I’m going through a “busy” season.  Here’s a list of reasons why:

1. My kids are home on summer vacation.
2. There’s 3 of them.
3. I just published a book and have a launch party this Friday, July 27th.
4. My schedule is packed with shameless self-promotion.  (Which reminds me, you’re invited to #3.)
5. I have to grocery shop at least twice a week, because I can’t seem to remember everything at once.  (Blerg…that reminds me…I need to add “new dustpan” to my shopping list before we can’t find our kitchen floor under the debris.)
6. I planned out a blog tour (genius!) and now I keep looking under my bed and behind the couch for random extra hours to write those blogs (what was I thinking?!).
7. Since I’m living and breathing my book right now, I thought I might as well volunteer to teach at my church for two weeks.
8. My husband started a puzzle and I really can’t rest when there’s an unfinished puzzle in the house.
9. Everyone in my house seems to be addicted to meals…so there’s no foreseeable break from cooking in the near future.
10. Is there a school supply list posted somewhere? Because I probably shouldn’t wait till the end of August to get that done.

It doesn’t really matter the season, though.  If I weren’t writing and speaking, it would be something else.  When my kids are in school, there still seems to be more things to do than the calendar says is doable.  Sometimes I let busyness be the excuse that keeps me from really examining my life.

Recently, an annoyingly intermittent beeping noise started interrupting the rest of my chaos.  When I was trying to have a quiet time in the morning, the beeping was there.  When I was trying to get dinner ready for whiny kids before bedtime, the beeping was there.  No matter what else was going on in the house, that beeping continued.

My smoke detector needed a new battery, and the beeping was a safety feature so I maintain our device and the safety of my family.  Everytime that alarm went off, I would feel my stress rising…yet I kept ignoring it, as though the problem might resolve itself eventually.

That beeping could save my life…but I viewed it as the one thing I simply didn’t have time for.

I think there’s a lot of things beeping in my life- little warnings that I need to pay attention to.  I have beeps in my marriage that remind me we need to reconnect, beeps with my kids that beg me to focus a little more on their needs, and beeps in my walk with God that alert me to neglected prayer and rusty priorities.

I’m truly enjoying this season of my life, but every once in awhile when I stop and sit for five quiet minutes, I get emotional.  When I stop just long enough, I’m aware of the problems in my life I’m ignoring, the priorities I’m allowing my busyness to drown out.

As a friend just reminded me, I need to learn to say no to what’s not important, and remind myself of the WHY in each activity I’m participating in.  If I can’t find clearly define why I’m doing what I’m doing, then I’m driving my life aimlessly and letting important things get lost.  And even if I’m doing things with clear purpose, I need to make sure I’m not skimping on important relationships and convictions in order to get where I think I want to go.

So I’m going to sit tonight when the kids go to bed and make some soul space to ask myself heart questions.  (You can totally hold me to that!)

By the way, I finally found which alarm needs to be updated…now I just need to find the right size battery…guess I’m going back to the store.

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What does your to-do list look like right now?  Have you noticed a few things “beeping” in your life, alerting you that you might need to slow down and give them some attention?  When was the last time you took a moment to clarify your life’s vision and priorities, or to take a pulse of your relationships?  I challenge you to join me in some soul space and see what you dig up. 🙂