So... even our kids recognize that the pace of life many of try to maintain is deleterious to the quality of our lives! What are we going to do about it? The time crunch is something many people feel, but most of us do not realize that it is an issue of choice. OK, you just sighed and said, "Right, Jerry. Maybe for you, but not for me." Please don't stop reading. Don't be discouraged or dismissive. Go ahead and get angry at me if you think you need to that, but finish reading this TFTD. If you don't think it applies, hit 'delete' and that's the end of of it. If the Spirit uses it to prod you towards change, then work with Him joyfully in the process.
How do we have choices in this pressured world where we must deal with demands of our supervisor at work, our family, our church, the bills that keep showing up in the mailbox, our conscience, and even the Spirit of God? Aren't most of the decisions all ready made for us? In a sense, it is true that prior choices continue to exert demands on us today. When I chose to marry Bev in 1975, I embraced the demands that accompany being a responsible husband. When I chose to have children, I accepted the responsibility for loving and supporting them. When I bought a car, I made a promise to make the payments. So, yes, we have ongoing responsibilities. However, with God's help and wisdom from the Word and Spirit, we can also begin to make decisions that will allow us to create more space in our lives for the important things to get done, instead of allowing our lives to be tyrannized by the urgent things pressed on us by others.
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Dr. Richard Swenson (an M.D.) makes several practical suggestions for setting our lives in a direction that will allow us to create the margin (the space in our life) so we can have choices about how we live and how we respond to God's will. These appeared in DJ's issue referenced earlier and are not original with me.
- Tame technology!
Cell phones, email, voice mail - exist for your convenience. Learn to turn them off on the weekend or for a full day. Make technology serve you instead of becoming its servant.
- Pitch the pile!
How many magazines and newspapers do you receive? How many do you read? How many are piled up waiting for your attention? If you don't have time to read them today, you won't have time tomorrow either. Cancel the ones you don't read and throw away the back issues.
- Stick with decisions!
Making a decision requires time and energy. There is seldom a compelling reason to go back and change that decision. Research an issue, make a choice, and then move on sticking to the choice you've made.
- Value sleep!
Sleep is not 'wasted time.' Almost all of us need at least 7-8 hours/day and we suffer emotionally and physically when we get less.
- Set an earlier ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival).
Planning to arrive exactly on time is a prescription for stress and panic. Traffic snarls, cars need to be filled with gas... so just plan to arrive early. That way, you can actually enjoy the trip! And the only way to have an earlier ETA is to plan an earlier departure!
- Subtract from your 'needs.'
List all the things you need, then start crossing things off. "There are two ways to get enough. One is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less!" - G.K.Chesterton
- Anticipate, and relish.
Calendar congestion robs us of the pleasure of anticipation. We rush to meet an event, rush through it, and rush on to the next. The joy of it is lost. So, plan an event like a birthday party, a vacation, or a day off far in advance and then walk towards deliberately, anticipating the joy it can bring. Savor it while it's happening, take pictures, be present. When it's over, tell stories - again and again. "We don't have to do a lot, we can do a little and remember it a lot."
- Stay put.
Stem the pace of change in your life. Put that job decision on hold for six months. Don't move to another house. Let your kids finish the school year where they are. Keep your church, your pastor, your friends... for you will need them more than you think.
We should know, but we forget... there is no pot o' gold at the end of the rainbow.
We can find treasure right where we are.
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Jesus tells us we must learn to live in the present, taking our days as they come - one at a time. Most of us don't. The result is stress, pressure, and failure to really value the parts of living that will ultimately give us the greatest joy -- family, friends, and the things of the Spirit. Take this Word with you today:
If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. (Matthew 6:30-34, The Message)
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