We Were Never Called To Be Busy

Hey y’all! I know it’s been a while. I’ve been good! So busy, but good! College is a lot of fun, there’s always somewhere to be, a game to watch, a friend to scoop, and assignments to be done! And just when that got to be too exhausting, Thanksgiving break came like a breath of fresh air and quite frankly, my saving grace. Not only was I in desperate need of a Juno Beach drive and a fresh acai bowl, I needed a change of pace to give myself time to chill out, to sit, to be still, to think. Like, what in the world just happened?! It’s Thanksgiving? I just learned how to swipe my ID to get into the library...and you’re telling me we’re taking finals in two weeks?! Holding back tears, I started down memory lane. Scrolling through my blurry snapchat memories, flipping through scribbled thoughts in my sacred journal, and reminiscing with friends via Facetime led me to doing what I do best: getting all my scrambled thoughts down on paper. I wrote up an entire bullet-pointed list of things I’ve learned this semester. Some were light hearted, when I was just listening to a sermon and thought “ooh that’s good!”, and then some were tougher - the kind where I’m glad Taylor Swift re-recorded Red to get me through. So over the next couple weeks/months (given what we know about my consistency), I’ll be doing a ~series~ of posts on some of the different topics from that list!

Continuing on the theme of being busy and overwhelmed, today’s post is about feeling too stressed or too busy to enjoy our days. Hopefully this post will ease some of the struggles that the upcoming final exam season will bring. Too many times this semester I found myself too overwhelmed to even look up from my phone while marching across campus frantically typing up a to-do list, pulling up the study guide I didn’t have time to memorize, and punching in my Starbucks mobile order. For a while this semester, this was the norm for me and by the end of the week I’d be flustered, run down, and weary. I’ve never been a go, go, go person before and I was always one to turn down plans for a Friday night on the couch, but in college there’s so much opportunity, so many things I want to be a part of, and so many people I want to be with. The continual sacrifice of my down time, and always trying to beat the clock led to the inevitable burnout. And the thing is, I was told that this was normal. “You never sleep in college, I don’t even have time to eat, I don’t have enough time for God.” And when you look for a way out of this cycle, you get told “go to God, and he will give you rest.”. Everytime I heard that, it did nothing for me. Like, what does that even mean?? I’m a realist, I thought unless God was going to cancel my classes, there’s no way he could give me rest. It wasn’t until I actually took it upon myself to make a physical effort and “run to God” that I realized, he can give you rest… and he will - if your priorities are in line.

God never intended for our lives to be so busy that we can’t take the time to check up on a friend, to be intentional, and to actually see his goodness. He promises us life, and life more abundantly when we live in relationship with him. If you find yourself too caught up in the outcome of your schedule; what grade you’re going to get, if he’ll text you back after the party, if you’ll get the job or not, etc. If you find yourself too caught up in that, you miss out on the potential joy of building a relationship, the chance to show others God’s love, the opportunity to appreciate the little things. These things can replenish you in the same way that a good nap can, if God is the heart behind them.

Remember that you don’t have to work 60 hours a week to be worthy of rest. It’s not something you earn. Jesus didn’t call us to be busy. In fact, he didn’t call us to be anything other than loving and faithful. He didn’t call us to have a 4.0 GPA, to be 5 lbs thinner, or to have a certain amount of followers. None of that will give you a leg up in his eyes. Fix your gaze on eternity. Make sure you’re living in a way that when God calls us up to Heaven, he can say “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” Not “my good and fit servant”, not “my good and popular servant” not “my good and wealthy servant.” You get my point.

Your legacy is your love, not your accomplishments.

Now with that being said, there will be times in your life when you are busy with good things and you’re doing them for the right reasons. It’s not a sin to want to be successful, have a lot of friends, and to enjoy life. So for those seasons, in the wise words of Grace Valentine, remember that “you can’t do big things if you don’t sit with your big God first.” The bible says in Matthew 6:33 “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” So if you want to be a doer of all the things: seek first his kingdom, and God will bless you with the rest.

To wrap this all up, in seasons of busyness where you find it hard to run toward God and receive his rest, get in his presence so that you can be present. His word will give you perspective to know what’s worth your time, strength to get through the difficult tasks, and joy in the midst of your busy days! Our days here are numbered; on Earth, in college, in your 20s, everything. Don’t be too busy counting down the days that you forget to make the days count.

That’s all for now! My favorite party trick is getting so overwhelmed that I don’t write for weeks, but maybe now that this post is up I’ll take my own advice and talk to y’all soon hehe!!!

Don’t forget that you are loved! Go be awesome! XOXOXOXO.