More Busyness Being Busted--Seeking Balance

So, how does this balance of busyness work? The opposite of being busy would be being lazy.

I certainly don't want to be lazy.

I already struggle with getting everything done around my house--laundry, meals, shopping for groceries, dusting, sweeping, mopping, make beds, clean bathrooms, wash dishes, declutter all the paper that accumulates, keep things picked up...

I struggle with that because I don't like doing a lot of it, not so much because of time! I use other things to crowd out chores so I can then say I didn't have time to do them.

Hey, I'm being honest here!

So, I choose to be busy with other things outside keeping my home. Naturally, in order to maintain priorities (my family being number one and a well-cared for home being part of that), I need to let go of some of the "other things".

Another thing that keeps me busy a lot of times is wasted time.

I tend to find myself wasting time if I don't have a plan. Days go by with little productivity if there's nothing on the schedule.

So, does this mean I should cut off all ministry outside my home? I don't think so.

Does this mean I should cut back some? Probably.

How do you choose? You don't.

You ask the Lord what He wants you to be doing. That's my whole point. (Well, that's God's point in what He's teaching me.)

So, do we just sit around waiting until we know for sure?

In his booklet The Lord's Work Done in the Lord's Way, K.P. Yohannan writes

"Please understand I am not saying that it is better to forsake the work of the ministry to pursue the "deeper life" of just drawing close to God in solitude. There are some who give such great emphasis on this "deeper life," yet so much of the actual work that God has for them goes neglected under the license of "waiting" upon Him. This can often just be a glorified laziness--and there are plenty of verses throughout Scripture that speak of the downfall of the sluggard ( see Proverbs 21:25)."

We look to Jesus as our example. He was a very busy man--traveling, speaking, healing, teaching. But, He spent time with His Father away from the crowd. Everything He did flowed from this relationship.

I don't think God is telling me to stop serving in our ministry office, mentoring new staff, serving in preschool on Sundays, helping my friends, having people over for meals, being the room mom for Rylee's class, and seeking new ways to be creative. I think He's telling me I just need to ask Him each and every day what He wants for me for that day. I think He wants me to continually sit before Him and place each thing, as it comes, on the altar and let Him decide.

My friends who think I do a lot might not see a big difference. They might still think I'm busy.

But, I'm also continuing to learn that shouldn't matter. I like how K.P. says it

"We shouldn't worry about how things look, what people might be saying, or whether or not there are the results we thought there would be. Our number-one concern must be to know Him and His ways and to follow His lead." (32)