#3 – Busy being busy

A multitude of activities doth not a success make...

Image source: Unknown

I used to have a veerry cluttered desktop. No, not the wooden one. My virtual desktop. Computer. This is mostly because I have tones of sticky notes flying around. Notes, tips and several goals I placed on my PC to help organize my life.

My tiff is however not with my love-hate-relationship with sticky notes. I like sticky notes, really I do and maybe a little clutter too. But the quarrel is with myself.

Here is why…

The ONLY reason I have tonnes of sticky notes is because I have tonnes of unfinished tasks. Somehow, it feels really good writing those notes down. And I won’t argue there are benefits, but the problem is after making dozens of bullet point goals, I sit back and admire my art of goal setting. But, after some weeks, I come back and if I still find those tasks undone, I begin to feel like I have…err…failed.

I define the quality of my life and ultimately my success by the number if things I am able to accomplish. This has always been one of my twisted ways of defining success. That the measure of success is being able to manage different things at the same time and succeed at all. I always thought, “Oh, you are good at that? Just that? What is the fun in that?” You see, this should not surprise you (maybe it doesn’t ‘cos you think the same way) as I am a serial multi-tasker. All ladies are. The quintessential Juliet-of-all-trades…err…master of…umm…err...none?

But it gets frustrating like I said, when I come back only to find I was not able to accomplish most of those tasks. It gets even worse when on some days I know I should be doing something but then just sit staring blankly at my bullet point list trying to figure out what to do. Ironic right? I mean I have many things to do already. Right?

Sigh.

Then I found something.

“I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.” (John 17:4 – NKJV)

Did you get that? Jesus said, ‘I have finished the work YOU gave me to do’. Not ‘the work Peter gave me to do’. Or ‘the work the Pharisees want me to do.’ But the work YOU gave me to do. Each time I pictured Jesus, I used to see Him as this super busy activity overlord who was running around healing the sick, preaching and generally doing good without a breather. But this is not true. Inasmuch as he was far from idle (John 9:4), he couldn’t possibly have been that busy if he could sit and draw circles in the stand, have relaxed conversations with strangers he met at the well, or have dinner parties with sinners. There were gazillions of sick people and lots of requests and expectations from him (many expected him to be an earthly king who would overthrow the Roman government), but he did only what God gave Him to do.

You see, this is key. I have realized that the only one I will report to is God. He is the one who holds the blueprint for my life. My duty is therefore, to find this blueprint on a daily basis. Instead of wasting time running off frantically in busyness, I should spend all that time finding what He wants me to do. I will be shocked to find that what he requires of me is blessedly simple. I should just chill and follow Him. This is not only wise but time-efficient.

Doing this, will drastically simplify our lives. God wants us to live full lives. Not busy lives. He wants us to live to the fullest. Love to the fullest. Abundant life. He wants to stretch us. But He doesn’t want us wasting precious time running at every one’s beck and call and generally getting burned out trying to compete with the world’s standard of success.

Busyness is great but can leave us blindly chasing results and not process. It sometimes has us leaving brush strokes all around and forgetting to admire the beautiful painting that is our lives. It can leave us as doers instead of livers.
 
Am I saying not to push yourself to the limit? Am I saying to be mediocre? Far from it! God will push you to your limits, His plans are anything but mediocre. What I am saying is this: shed off the extra load! De-clutter your life. The only burden you want in your life is that which God places on you. And it will shock you to find it is very light!

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 – NKJV).
 
His burden is light if we take it up with joy and surrender. Pause a little. Review your to-do list. For whom are you doing them? If the answer is not God, then immediately strike them off your list. Now, begin to ask God, “What will you have me do?” Sometimes, you cannot sit idle and wait for God to move you. Take one step in faith first and watch Him guide you. Because a success is not a busy person but an obedient, purposeful person.

I may not do all the great things I dream of doing. I may not go all the places I desire to go. I may not make all the money I want to. I may not please everybody, even myself. I may not fill every moment of my life with ‘great’ activities. But I will do all God expects of me. I will settle for what He wants even if it looks insignificant in the world’s eyes. Things like faith, love, hope, joy…silence. I will work tirelessly for His beautiful will. I will wait on and for Him.

And maybe that’s okay.

Side Note:

In summary: 
 
Whatever you do, don’t EVER, EVER, EVERRR, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVERRR, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVERRR, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVERRR, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVERRR, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVERRR, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVERRR, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVERRR, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVERRR, EVER, EVER get too busy for God.

Ever.

Sorry, I was testing my copy and paste skills :)

Okay, here goes: Whatever you do, don't ever get too busy for God.



*Based on the "What I have been learning" series.

GOD’S STORY

So the other day I watched a bus conductor. He hung by the door of the bus, angled slightly outward as he bellowed on the top of his voice for passengers. His crescendo undulated, rising and falling intermittently in the traffic. He looked so tired, so worn. And I wondered what his story was. Did he have dreams? Did a smile ever crack that now expressionless face? How often did it happen? What were his hopes as a child? Did he ever plan to be where he was?

Life on the whole can be pretty crappy and some things happen that make us wonder if it is even worth it. We wake, eat, work, go through routine, sleep and wake again to continue the vicious cycle. I am not about to write another book of Ecclesiastes, but my point is, life can seem meaningless. Why do we live? What do we live for? We sometimes get so caught in the middle that we feel like amateur actors in the center stage of a movie with no script or cues.

Why do we live? We laugh and the next second we cry from the very things that caused us joy. We live in a world where nobody seems to care anymore. Nobody wants to hear anybody. We are lost. Obscure even as we are in everyone’s faces. Sometimes you feel like maybe we all lost our way. Maybe we all should have been somewhere else. Then the question would be…as opposed to what? Space?

There has to be more. Routine is not what we were born for. This picture just doesn’t seem right.

As I go through the book of Genesis, particularly chapter 5, I see names, people…lives. But something struck me; I realized that each of them had a story but somehow, their stories looked so…small that it could be summarized in a verse or a few verses. The writer seemed to breeze over, a procession of names and few-line stories. Whoever they were, their whole book appeared to be sufficient for only a few lines. And even those few verses would go along the lines of:

“When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalel. And after he became the father of Mahalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Kenan lived 910 years, and then he died.” (Genesis 5:12-14)

What a biography! For nine-hundred and ten good years! We don’t even know what he did. All we know is he spent 910 years breathing, making children and…dying. And he wasn’t the only one. Obviously, I know the writer of Genesis couldn’t possibly tell us all they did with their lives. But there should be more.

“And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters, altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God, then he was no more because God took him away.” (Genesis 5:22-24).

I am amazed at this. Why? Because Enoch seemed to have accomplished more in his 365 years than the other people did in over 900 years. Even in the probability that the writer was struggling with space, he could not pass over this significant detail of Enoch’s life.

I have one major fear. I fear that I would be ordinary. I fear that I would not be that person whose story is ridden in so much awesomeness. Who doesn’t? But the truth is, we all have a story, every one of us. But your story or how it is told is defined by who holds the pen. If you choose to hand it over to a writer with an absolute lack of imagination (like yourself), what right has your story to be anything less than boring? A one-line diatribe?

Enoch understood this and so he wisely handed God not just his pen but his hand as they walked into the sunset, littering the pages of Enoch’s life with beauty, a grand work of art. Yours doesn’t have to be a story the whole world knows, but it should be one that fulfils God’s purpose for your life. It should be a life where you die EMPTY, knowing:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”(2 Timothy 4:7).

A life that disappoints the grave because it has nothing give it. A life that has given all there could possibly be. A life that fought to the last irrespective of its length.

It is true we all have struggles, true it can never be easy. It is also true that a manufacturer alone understands why and how he made a car. Life doesn’t have to be a routine or a list of meaningless pain or pure purposelessness.  It is more, irrespective of our hurt and wars.

But no matter who we are, where we have been or what demons we fight, we owe it to not just ourselves but to God and indeed our world to tell a story. It is one thing we all have but the extent to which we are able to draw people to it and not bore them or make them shake their heads in pity when our stories are told, is the extent to which we really live.

Open the book.

And hand God the pen.

It would be hard. It would be tough. It would take the very essence of who we are. But in the end it would be God’s story told in us. And it would be worth it.

Side Note: 

There is more to life than the routine we tend to fall into. Life can be abundant and overflowing and it can only be found in Jesus. Give Him your pen. He alone can write that best seller with your life. 

Much love!

THE WORLD DOESN'T KNOW

Birthdays are a tradition in my family. This inherent fact was proven when at 12:11am, my phone buzzed angrily and I could almost hear it saying “I’m sorry. I know it’s late but I can’t help it”, (since we had a fight the day before about its annoying crieswhich kept me from Snooze Ville). 

Well, the apology wasn’t all that necessary since I was awake – as wide-eyed as an owl. I checked the message and what do you know? It’s Mum! All armed with more prayers than I ever thought possible to be contained in an SMS – short message service – read; SHORT being the predominant word. I was just doing the digestion process when my phone gave another shrill cry. Phone call. Who do we have here?  Guess? Mum! I smiled as I picked the call, bracing up for the next prayer barrage. 

And trust Mum now, she didn’t disappoint at all as we proceeded to begin our prayer vigil, complete with music (the standard “Happy birthday to you” and “jolly good fellow”). I was really overwhelmed. This was just the beginning, I knew. Everyone in my family understood this tradition, everyone had the date etched in their memory, so I knew there would be more.

 Christmas is a tradition in the whole world. A time to love, share and remember, that time when God became a baby boy in swaddling clothes to remind us we are not alone. A time when all over the world one man becomes the reason why trees get all dressed-up, the reason why we remember gifts are for giving, the reason family members get together. A time when most people even celebrate the birthday without knowing the celebrant. That time when Christmas is Christmas.

My birthdays are important in my family, so is Christmas. Christmas is important to the whole world…what about my birthday? Everyone knows 25th of December. Do they know the 21st?

A baby was conceived of a scandal, he was born in horses and cows’ bowl of food, there were no standard birthing procedures or professionals; just his mum, dad and the animals…he was a carpenter’s son. Yet, over twenty centuries later, the whole world sets aside their busy schedules to celebrate this baby boy’s birthday.

What does my birthday have in common with Christmas?

Does my birth have a purpose?

Was I born to save the world?

Was my birth predestined by God?

Did angels herald my arrival? 

Will the world celebrate me long after I’m dead?

Yes, I was born with a purpose. Yes, I was born to save people (if not the whole world). Yes, my birth was predestined by God. Yes, angels heralded my arrival (believe it or not). But, will the world celebrate me long after I’m dead?

Okay, so it’s my birthday. I’m now officially an adult *shiver*...scaarryy! Another year gone, another year closer to my grave.

This is a sobering thought and I want you to take a few minutes to reflect on it. What do I have in common with Jesus? What will the world remember me for? Why am I still alive? Why was I born? After all, a birthday is not a celebration of when you were born so much as why you were born.

 

Side note: I'm really grateful to God for the precious gift of life...and all that comes with it. I was going to write something more poetic and riveting, but apparently my brain still doesn't get it...I'm older now "hello?" Maybe when I'm 21 then. Oh well, thank y'all for your wishes...I'm grateful. the world may not know yet but the ones who know mean the world.