So often, that's my excuse for anything and everything that comes to my attention before I can even process what the offer or obligation actually consists of. All of the work at all of the jobs I have, all of the things the kids have going on, the rides they need to the places they must go, all of the prior engagements I have scheduled, all of the unexpected duties that pop up at the last minute... it's overwhelming, yes? Plus wanting to spend time with family, with friends, with God, with myself. Tending a garden. Feeding the pets. Housesitting for the neighbors. Doing the household chores. Preparing and cooking meals. Random bursts of fitness when I have 'spare' time.
But what if I read that as not an excuse, but a statement?
I'm too busy.
Yes, yes I am. So I have to ask myself, are there things that I can say 'no' to that are already on my agenda? If not, are there moments... albeit brief ones... where I can take two minutes out of what I'm doing and just breathe a prayer for strength and patience, for endurance, for communion with the Creator? Yes. A resounding YES.
When I take into account the time I waste each day, even the moments, there are dozens if not hundreds of times when I can stop, breathe, pray, and start again. Every time I pick up my phone and scroll through my Facebook feed mindlessly is a moment I can use differently. Every time I close the bathroom door I have at least a couple of minutes where, even if I'm ... ahem... 'doing something', I don't have to focus on it, for goodness sake. I can focus somewhere else, on Someone else.
Someone who's drowning doesn't need to reach the shore, necessarily. As long as they have one square foot of sandbar, they can keep their head above water. I have my day of rest, my 'shore', each week and, for that, I'm so grateful. But I certainly need a small sandbar everyday, here and there, so that I can regroup.
Moments of mindfulness make a world of difference in the mundane.
Stephanie Jean
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