There’s no doubt that I stay pretty busy. There is always someone to call or see, somewhere to be, something else that needs to be done. Even if it is just the dishes from dinner, there is always a task at hand. With everything that we absolutely have to do, why is it that we continue to tack on more and more activities, events, etc.? When I fill every minute with stuff, I lose focus and get off track from what life is really all about. I stop thinking and I just do.

There is an epidemic of going, going, going in suburban America. A few weeks ago I was speaking with a parent of a middle school student. This student is in advanced classes, plays a sport for the middle school, and also plays on a traveling rec team. The parent of this student was telling me about a breakdown following one of these athletic events. The student was exhausted and the thought of returning home to study for an exam the next day, as well as the other school work left to be done, was just too much. Tears streamed down the face of this hard-pressed student who is only in MIDDLE SCHOOL. Of course there is absolutely no time left for anything dealing with God or eternal things. Why do we let culture crush us like this??? I felt sympathetic toward this parent and student, because I love them. Unfortunately, this story is becoming the norm for families today.

It all starts with belief. If we don’t believe that we were created to be in a loving relationship with the God of the universe, then we will never make sabbath (rest) a priority in our lives. It’s all about the here and now. It’s all about what we can see and touch. Then we wonder why we feel empty. One of my favorite John Mayer songs says it all, “something’s missing.” So we try to fill the emptiness with activities and doing good deeds; which end up being just more appointments on the calendar to which we run.

God has given us all the time in the world to be the people that he created us to be. We get to decide how our hours, minutes, and seconds are used. Cancel some events, re-prioritize, leave something undone, open up some space for relaxation with your family, and remember the eternal things. Life will go on and you might even discover more meaning, rather than becoming a zombie to our culture’s popular calendar.