Time to Refocus

The amount of blog activity around here tends to have an inverse relationship to the activity in our "real" lives. As you probably guessed, the past few weeks have been busy. Ridiculously busy. As in, I stopped counting at 9 different things I would miss as I went out of town this past weekend. As in, when I arrived at work this morning, I anticipated tonight being my first free night in about 3 weeks. Now, shortly after 9 in the morning, it is already looking like that may not happen until next Monday.
For a little while, it can be fun to be busy and have a lot going on. But please be warned: Satan seems to love using busy lifestyles to take our focus off of where it should be.
Many of us seem to place our value in our schedule. The busier you are, the more purposeful your life becomes. This is a lie.
In filling in our planners and scheduling our lives, we tend to forget that our purpose and value does not have anything to do with how many meetings we attend, or how little free time we possess. We look at those around us with envy as we see all that they accomplish in their day. We jump to answer our cell phone with no regard for the individual across the table. We arrive late to meet someone, without consideration of what they dropped in order to be there on time.
I think it is great to be involved. I really do. Community is an essential part of our faith, and it is impossible to foster such fellowship without involvement and activity.
But I also think it is great to be invested. Simply showing up does not build relationships. So when you have plans, commit to them. And be fully present. Don't be thinking of what you'd rather be doing, or the million items on your to-do list, or the countless items you need to add to that list. Show whomever you are with that you value them more than your schedule. Maybe that means turning your phone off every now and then. Maybe it means setting your clock ahead in order to arrive on time. Maybe it means cutting back on a few activities and giving more to the remaining commitments. God does not need a packed schedule in order to use you for His glory.