Busyness

In church today, we heard a sermon about the dangers of busyness. Doug Fields, author of What Matters Most, writes that "busyness makes us look important but cripples our relationships. Busyness feeds our egos but ultimately starve our souls. Busyness fills our calendars but fractures our families. And busyness props up our images but shrinks our hearts."

Wow.

I am busy. We are all busy. And I can see the truth of what Fields writes in areas of my life. I do not want to be so busy that I forget my priorities, that I take my eyes off the important things. I don't want my relationships to suffer - to be crippled; I don't want my soul to be starved, my family to be fractured, or my heart to be hurt because I am too involved.

I don't know how to be less busy. I don't know what to say "no" to. At this point, I'm not sure I need to; however, I am approaching the remainder of this year with a heightened sense of awareness, watching for signs that my busyness is hurting me. Evaluation creates opportunities for change - and this seems a good time to evaluate, prior to considering New Year's resolutions, and identifying where I should be putting my energy that will keep me busy with the right things.