WHY YOU NEED TO GIVE UP BUSYNESS AS A BADGE OF HONOR

Do you struggle with busyness like I do..and even wear it as a badge of honor? Learn why it may good for you to give up being Little Miss Busy.

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE CRAZY BUSY

I just finished reading a great book called CRAZY BUSY by Kevin DeYoung. I find it a bit ironic and funny that I picked up this book during one the busiest seasons of the year (especially if you are a mom of school-aged children!), but I think God knew I needed to read it.

The subtitle of the book is my favorite: A (Mercifully) Short Book about a (Really) Big Problem.

Don’t you just love that? The first chapter is entitled, “Hello, My Name is Busy.”

This guy had me at page one!

Like him, I feel a little hypocritical writing a post about busyness. I have struggled with it my entire life. So has Kevin DeYoung. This is what he shares:

“I do not write this book as one who has reached the summit and now bends over to throw the rope down to everyone else. More like the guy with a toehold three feet off the ground, looking for my next grip. I’m writing this book not because I know more than others but because I want to know more than I do…and because I want to change.” (Crazy Busy, 11-12)

Crazy Busy, pp. 11-12

WHY WE WEAR BUSYNESS AS A BADGE OF HONOR

That is where I am too…on a journey looking for fellow travelers who may be struggling with the same things and trying to find a different path. So I have been thinking a lot about busyness in general. Or how we (especially as women) sometimes wear our busyness like a badge of honor.

Do you know what I am talking about?

I am definitely guilty.

I might as well fill out a sticky nametag, call myself “Little Miss Busy” and walk around all day proudly showing everyone.  Yikes!

I have even played the “one up” game in regards to being busy. Have you?  You run into a friend at the grocery store and the conversation goes something like this:

Me:  Hey, how are you?  Sorry I am in a rush, but I am running up to the school with snacks for the end of the year party.  

Her:  Oh, yeah. I know.  I have to go home and fill up 50 water balloons and then make a meal for a sick friend.

Me:  I feel for you.  I have three sports activities tonight in three different places and I just don’t know how I am going to do it.  Plus, my daughter has a huge project due for school tomorrow and I need to get to the store for supplies.

Her: Life is so crazy, busy!  I am in charge of the teacher’s gifts for the end of year, have a huge project due for work, and am running the neighborhood garage sale this weekend.

Me:  I so get it. My church needs me for VBC this summer, the kids are all going on mission trips and camps, and I was asked to chair the upcoming fundraiser for PTO.

Her:  How do we do it all?  Good times, right?

Me:  I guess.  Good times.  Hope to run into you again soon because neither of us has time to meet for a cup of coffee…

This could go on and on while we waste our precious time trying “out busy” each other instead of getting to all of the stuff we really need to do.  Oh my stars!

WE ALL STRUGGLE WITH BEING BUSY

Ok, let’s just put it out there right now…

I’m busy.

You’re busy.

It is our season of life.

It is the choices we make.

We don’t have to compare or judge.

We don’t have one up each other.

We don’t have to feel less than or better than.

We don’t have to wear our busyness as a badge of honor.

THE DANGERS OF BUSYNESS

I guess that thing about DeYoung’s book that really hit close to home were the dangers of being too busy (DeYoung, Crazy Busy, 26-30):

• Busyness can ruin our joy.
• Busyness can rob our hearts.
• Busyness can cover up the rot in our souls.

If those statements don’t slow you down, I am not sure what will!

So, I am starting today.  I am ripping off that busyness badge of honor because I am no longer proud to wear it.  Being busy does not make me a better person.  In fact, it really does just the opposite.  When I overcommit and overload my schedule, I become impatient, irritable, and often irrational.  I miss out on the precious moments of the present because I am always looking at what comes next on my “to do” list.

Ugghh!  It is not pretty and it is not good for me, my family, or those around me.

I am asking you to take my hand today on the path.  We will not talk about how busy we are or how much we have to do. We will walk slowly together, look around, and enjoy the journey.  Let’s meet for that cup of coffee, talk about real things, laugh till we cry, and encourage each other!

Thanks for keeping it real and honest with me, friends.  If you see me around town wearing the busyness badge, you have my permission to rip it off!