To quote my grandson Henry, these words, “What is happening with this, Amma? What is happening? This is dangerous,” could quite conceivably freeze you in your tracks. But don’t worry, because to Henry, eating something he doesn’t like on any particular day is dangerous. One day, it’s dangerous to eat a PB&J, on another, macaroni and cheese. He’s quite the character and quite verbal—he’s only two and a half years old!
But “This is dangerous,” could apply to so many things. There’s physical peril in regards to cliff diving, bungee jumping, tightrope walking and even choking on that aforesaid PB&J, but there’s the greater reality of the “under the radar” deceptive dangers of the everyday, the “I’m so busy” syndrome.
“I’m So Busy—The Narrative”
“I’m behind in everything. I look one way and the flowerbed needs weeding. I look another and the laundry is challenging Mount Everest for who is the tallest. Floors need to be mopped and the dog needs to be shaved (at least that will get rid of all the fur that is trying to become my new rug.) I complete one project and find that five more have taken its place. And truly, I don’t think I’m alone. I hear it everyday from family, friends, and even the media. And it goes on and on and on. And now I’m further behind than when I started.”
Some of it’s my fault, to be sure. Saying “no” when I should, and “yes” when I can’t—over committing and under planning when in the moment it all seems so grand. But most of the time when I end up with an aching body, an aching heart and mind, and an aching for rest that’s almost unquenchable, I should wonder like Henry who has now become the voice in my head…”What is happening Amma? What is happening with this?”
The truth is—I don’t know. It could be the pride of life that the Bible speaks of. (See 1 John 2:16) Or that of trying to be Superman or Wonder Woman or all the Avengers tied up in one. Or maybe it’s being caught in the spider web lie of “I can’t stop or it will all fall apart.” But whatever it is, either if it’s happening to me or around me Truth ultimately breaks through once again reminding me to be still and let God be God. And when that happens, I find the rest I have so deeply longed for. He’s always there. He never leaves us. He never forsakes us. (Hebrews 13:8)
Is busyness ever going to go away? I don’t think so, and you know, it really doesn’t matter. Like the calm in the eye of a hurricane, in the chaos and swirl of life’s inanity, we can look upward to heaven.
“Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10a (ESV)
Kimberly
