Yet when I took a step back and looked at what my summer schedule held out to me, I found nothing quite so different from the rest of the year. The deadlines and duties, meetings and meals were all there demanding my attention and participation. The scene outside my window screamed of summer, but it didn’t feel like summer. Nothing was different in the routine. In fact, the “daily grind” had become an all too accurate metaphor over this past year. So, halfway into summer, I decided it was time to put on the brakes and figure out what was going on.
In this age of information and ceaseless activity, we are too easily swept up in the allure of newness at every turn. A new idea to read about; a new activity to pursue; a new personality to emulate. It all becomes one giant whirl of meaninglessness with no point of reference. Often in the midst of all this we find no anchor of truth on which any of this information stands, and no greater purpose that it leads us to (especially true for our children!) This unwelcome summer angst caused me to ask some basic questions: What am I doing and why am I doing it? What is the benefit to myself or anyone else? And the very scary question: What if I did things differently?
For me, times like these are the “thorn in my flesh” moments that God uses to cause me to pare away the things in life that really have little importance. Each of us has things that detract us from what we are here to do. What are we here to do, you ask? Above all else, we are here to love one another. It’s that simple. Seriously. That means taking time to listen and serve. To be patient and kind. To let thoughtless judgment be replaced with compassion and mercy. I struggle to love when I am feeling stressed and hurried. I have found hurry to be an insidious enemy that keeps me from seeing the hearts of people around me. Think about it. Hurry robs us of compassion. You cannot be genuinely sympathetic to someone when you are more concerned with the next place you need to be, or more concerned with fulfilling your next task. Just ask your children, spouse or colleagues how well you are doing in this area. They can tell you!
We have cute sayings on our coffee mugs that remind us to stop and “smell the roses,” yet somehow, we are lulled into thinking that our busyness is serving us well, when usually it is quite the opposite. It takes a substantial dose of bravery these days to slow ourselves down. It takes some real discipline to intentionally make time to love others no matter if they are close to us or not. It takes determination and a concerted effort to make time to serve others rather than be swept up in the self absorption our culture promotes.
We at Grace Church are a strong, loving community. Yet I believe that we can make efforts to become even stronger. To love and serve one another. It’s simple, but it takes time. Where else can we begin this process more easily than at home and at church? I wonder if we could make an intentional and stated priority in our families to love and serve each other? Not as an added task on our “to do” list, but as a replacement for some of the unnecessary busyness that takes up our time. Why bother? Because love is worth it! Serving others makes us happier than anything else. And aren’t we all looking for that elusive feeling of happiness!
Realizing this, I have decided to make some changes in the way I schedule my time. I will be making many efforts this year to allow more time to minister rather than administer, making more time to listen, teach and counsel. Some things will need to give way, but they are far less important than my desire to serve and love those of you who God has placed in my life.
I hope you will also ask yourselves: What am I doing and why? And I hope this leads you to a more fervent desire to make the world a better place by making time to love.
In Christ’s love,
~Amy
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