Busyness

Busyness. To be busy is a blessing and a curse at the same time. Oftentimes, if you are anything like me, the blessing in it is often hard to see. I feel as though I am constantly rushing from one thing to the next just to get to that thing and still feel stressed. Life sometimes seems like a never-ending to-do list, and no matter how many items I check off, I can never seem to complete everything.

The thing about busyness that makes it so frustrating (well let’s be honest, there are many reasons why busyness is frustrating) is that we all carry our own. Each new day brings its own struggles and lists of to-dos for each person in the world. The constant rush and pressure you feel to get things done is probably very similar to the person driving in the car next to you. So, why does it feel like we are in it alone?

How many times have you wished that people would understand everything that you have going on; to be able to explain all that’s on your plate and for that person to be able to truly see and feel all that stress you carry? It’s as if we think we would feel better if someone else would feel and carry that burden with us. I will be honest in admitting that I tend to be a stressful person. And yes, okay, I will admit that most of my day-to-day stress is probably self-inflicted. All that being said, I tend to feel as though I am constantly bogged down with stress and busyness, and I walk around with this spotlight effect of “I am the only one going through this, and no one will understand or be able to help.” This thought got challenged this morning as I was driving to work.

In the middle of rush hour traffic this morning I got a new perspective on our world and just how busy we are. I looked around at the cars I passed (going the speed limit of course) and I got this epiphany that I wasn’t the only one in a hurry. As I watched the cars go by and the people in them, I started wondering where all these people could be rushing to. Some of them were single drivers probably in a hurry to get to work in time, some of them I noticed had children in the car and were probably rushing to school, and some were probably rushing to their favorite coffee shop in order to get a pick me up for the day ahead. Everyone I passed were all going to different places but we all probably felt that same stress of trying to beat the clock to make it to our destination in time. I passed one woman who was pulled over on the side of the road getting assistance with what looked to be a flat tire. The busy brain of mine first wondered “I wonder if she let her work know that she would be late?” Further, I wondered if she would have to take time off for her minor inconvenience this morning, or if she would have to stay later to make that time up. Wow, I could not be more worried about time. A question that sparked in me later, and one that i have for you is, would you have stopped to help this woman? Even if it meant being late for whatever obligation you were on your way to? Unfortunately, many would say no, and I will be honest in saying I’m not sure what I would do. How sad is that?

Every morning on the way to work I call my mom. Without fail, we share that we are both running late and are rushing in order to beat the clock and make it on time. We joke about how we rush and rush just to get to our workplace and work. (We both agree that we need to work on being more efficient with our morning routines). I think my mom and I would both agree that we tend to rush so much in the mornings that we often fail to be fully present with each other on the phone, and we often fail to be fully present with the world around us. For example, I have quite a bit of a morning commute. This means, I leave pretty early, and it allows for me to see the sunrise, if I am actually looking for it. I didn’t realize what a gift it was to be able to have this time to witness the Lord’s wondrous work of bringing light onto the new day until months of making this drive. I had become so focused on the rush that I didn’t take the time to stop and be still. This led me to think how many of us are so caught up with the busyness and struggles of our own lives that we have forgotten to look around at the wondrous works of the Lord? How many of us go through our day-to-day and see his wonderful blessings on our lives (such as busyness) and get too caught up in our own world that we forget this world isn’t ours? Are we too busy, stressed, or bogged down by our own struggles that we are missing what the Lord has placed right in front of us? The people. The conversations. His beautiful creation. Are we missing the Lord’s presence/ voice in our lives?

“Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said,” Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore, tell her to help me. and Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” - Luke 10:38-42

How many of us are running around acting like Martha, distracted, and missing what is right in front of us? I will be the first to admit that in the past couple years of my adult life, busyness has increased and the free time I once had, has seemed to disappear. I have taken on a more Martha role instead of Mary without even realizing that it was happening. In the scripture I can relate to Martha because it seemed as though she was acting out of habit. Rushing around making sure everything was perfect and complete for her guests. She didn’t even have time to sit in the Lord’s presence... unfortunately this it too relatable. Martha rushes around trying to get things done, meanwhile, Mary sits at the Lord's feet in full surrender to Him instead of her tasks. Man, how many of us today would look at Mary and scoff at her too for leaving us to do the job alone?

What a humbling reminder Jesus tells Martha at the end of this scripture while she is left feeling overwhelmed with busyness. He says, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” Now replace Martha with your name in this text and read it over again. How real is that?

Friend, I fear our society has become too much like Martha and too little like Mary. What would it take in your own life to let go of some of those things on your never-ending to-do list and instead replace them with a never-ending God? Prioritizing Jesus first over the things of this world will leave you feeling a peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7) and in the midst of that peace you will begin to experience true joy.

I pray that wherever you are at in your walk with the Lord, that you would become more like Mary today. That you would first seek the kingdom of God above all else. That you would seek him and there you would find rest for your weary heart and troubled soul (Matthew 11:28-30). I wonder just how different our drives to work, school, or wherever you are rushing off to would look like if we took the time to first sit at Jesus’ feet and hear his word. To seek his presence in the busyness of our everyday lives.

The last thing I will leave you with is that He cares. He cares about your stress, your burdens, your busyness, your anxiety, he cares about whatever it is you are walking through today. He cared about Martha enough to see her troubled heart and her worry and called her name to seek him. And just like Martha he cares about you enough to see you in your busyness and is calling on your name. Jesus called on Martha’s name and told her that Mary has chosen what was right. She had chosen him. In doing so, Jesus encouraged Martha to put everything down and surrender to him at his feet. Only then would she find true rest and be filled with all she would ever need. My prayer is that you would do the same.

“But only one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” - Luke 10:42