Keepin' it real...

(Okay -- I may be busy, but I WILL make time for this!)

 

I’ve been really busy…and I’m not too good at it.

I consider myself a “small plate” person. My plate fills up pretty quickly as far as activities go. I wish it were different, but try as I might to enlarge my plate, it has only increased a little.

And let me say right now that I know I am really, REALLY blessed to be able to tailor my activity to fit my small plate. True, our summers on the farm are FULL of busyness, but the rest of the year we have plenty of flexibility.

Because of that flexibility, I have been able to work in the place of my friend, Sharice, who is recovering (well, I might add!) from her surprise (that’s the nice way to say it) open heart surgery. It’s a chance for me to put into action God’s admonition to “bear one another’s burdens”, and if it makes Sharice’s burden lighter, I am happy to do it.

But truthfully, I’m having a little trouble getting my feet under me! I feel a little lost when I look at my day, and wonder how it’s all going to fit. A bit of paralysis sets in when I try to decide which task should be first. Thankfully, it’s easy to decide to just go to work at the truck repair shop, and worry about the rest later.

The past month has been full of calendar events, so I have just moved from the first urgent demand to the next urgent thing. Most weeks, I have had more than one event scheduled for 4 out of the seven days of the week. Not the norm for me!

It makes evident that I am not good at internal motivations. I am pushed along by the external schedule until a little free time appears and I’m not sure where I am, and what I should be doing, and woe to the hubby who asks when dinner will be ready.

Not good, really -- not good…

I still need to learn to be a grown-up, and make my own choices instead of jumping into the River of Urgency and getting swept away. I haven’t grown out of The Good Dutch Girl mindset that expects that no activity or responsibility can be dropped in a season of busyness – The house must be kept up, the cooking continue, the schedule must be kept…Really, there is stuff that CAN be let go, while more important issues take the forefront in my schedule! (I’m thinking cooking and cleaning are the best things to jettison! {wink,wink})

So once again, God is using circumstances to remind me that I still have a lot of growing up to do. I avoid being busy most of the time, and this season of busyness is teaching me that more lessons need to be learned.

You may notice me muttering to myself…I am likely saying, “Come on, Leslie! Be a grown-up!”

Or I might be wondering what I came into the room for…

I’ve noticed that busyness exacerbates the mental pauses of age and The Big M…

But it does keep life interesting…If you can remember it.