The glorification of "busy"

As I drug myself out of bed this morning, I was already thinking through the things I need to do in the next couple days.  Work, youth group with the girls, pack, work, head to town, plan trip to town.... not to mention my neglected blog that I hardly think about anymore.  I was stressed before I even drug myself out from under the covers. 

As the summer season slips away and fall comes at us full force, I think the village as a whole hopes to catch their breath.  But it never happens.  Winter activities start up: Bible studies, Awana, prayer meetings, school activities, plotting pranks, craft nights, and regular social gatherings keep us going non-stop.  It seems like the action never stops around here. 


Many of these activities involve relationship building, which is great.  Living in a small community definitely gives us opportunities aplenty to practice relational living and "doing life together" as one of my favorite pastors calls it.  Oftentimes I will come home to a pile of laundry that still needs to be done and a room that I was supposed to clean, and ignore it for a more exciting social opportunity. 



I know I am not alone in this feeling of "busy."  I can only imagine how much more busy the people living in town are, who have more friends, commutes, gym memberships and text messaging to keep them even more busy.  Just being in amongst the hustle and bustle of a bunch of people makes me feel the need to GO GO GO every time I visit town.

After the socially acceptable, "hi, how are you?" "Good how are you?" "good" interaction, the next commonly asked question is, "how have you been?"  It seems like everyone's standard answer is "Busy!  Just really busy..."  I take pride in my activities.  I feel complete when my schedule is so full that I can't stop for an evening to drop by a friend's house just to visit for a little while, or invite one of the high school girls over to make cookies. 

I guess its nothing new.  Psalms 46 addresses the chaos of life, and especially what I tend to miss in my day to day busyness.  I've copy/pasted the whole thing, underlining the text that I need to work harder to put into practice.  I'm sure I am not the only one who could use some improvement in this area! 

Psalm 46
1 God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
³ though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.^[c]

⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.
⁵ God is within her, she will not fall;
    God will help her at break of day.
⁶ Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
    he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

⁷ The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

⁸ Come and see what the Lord has done,
    the desolations he has brought on the earth.
⁹ He makes wars cease
    to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields^[d] with fire.
¹⁰ He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; 

    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”

¹¹ The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.