Taming the busyness beast in your life (Conclusion)

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
– Matthew 6:33

 

This month we have been discussing setting priorities and taming the busyness beast in your life. Jesus reminds us in Matthew 6:33 to keep our priorities straight. There’s nothing wrong with being busy, just so long as your busyness is productive and it allows room for God. When we put God first, God assures us we will have all the other things we need. Unfortunately for some of us, our busyness has taken over our lives. We are going so fast and doing so much, that when we do finally slow down and see where we are, we don’t have a clue how we got there. I readily admit I have been guilty at times of allowing the busyness beast to consume me. During certain times of the year, I get tremendously busy. In between ministering to God’s people, speaking at conferences (locally and nationally), taking classes, fulfilling writing contracts and other personal demands on my time, I often found myself feeding and nurturing the busyness beast. It has been at those times, I have had to learn to either discipline myself and plan my day/week appropriately or risk threatening and upsetting my spiritual equilibrium.
In our conclusion, the following are seven tips that have helped me in taming the busyness beast. While the list summarized below is obviously more nuanced than what can be written in this limited context, the general proposition is to at least give you a running start with taming the busyness beast in your life.
1. Make God your #1 priority. Reading Scripture, meditating, praying and even singing hymns or spiritual melodies in your heart is very soothing, relaxing and spiritually uplifting. In order for your life to be blessed, God must come first.
2. Prioritize what matters. Don’t wake up each day thinking it all has to get done. Instead, stay focused on what needs to be done.
3. You can’t do it all! Chances are there many things you WANT to do in any given day or week. This is why you must set priorities. You don’t have to complete everything. Focus on the right stuff first. Focus on the things you see need your attention and delegate where needed. Don’t feed the busyness beast by trying to do it all!
4. Get organized. If you feel your life is spinning out of control, chances are you need a little organization. Review, purge and clean whatever and wherever attention is needed. The more you can organize your life, the greater chance you have of taming that wild beast.
5. Embrace imperfect perfection. This is very important in taming the busyness beast. You are NOT perfect. Accept that fact and move on! Embrace the imperfection and don’t expect others to be perfect either.
6. You can’t make everyone happy. Must more be said?
7. Enjoy life! Don’t let the busyness beast consume all of your time. It only makes the beast feel loved, nurtured and appreciated. Take time to have fun, enjoy life, family and friends. Take mini weekend get-a-ways. Ladies, plan a day at the spa! Men, go fishing. Get some fresh air, take a walk, or simply sit and have a good laugh with family and friends. Rejuvenate to reinvigorate!
Beloved, if you have allowed the busyness beast to consume you, don’t ignore him. Ignoring it is like feeding the beast chocolate cake all day long. He loves stress, tension and anxiety. They make him grow and thrive! Instead, begin this New Year with a personal resolve to tame him. The first step of course is to recognize he exists. Secondly, you must deal with him by refusing to continue feeding him. If you have already conquered the busyness beast, share your tips with others on how you did it! And… don’t forget to share a few with me.
Next Month: Overcoming Shame
The writer does not assume responsibility in any way for readers’ efforts to apply or utilize information or recommendations made in these articles, as they may not be necessarily appropriate for every situation to which they may refer. Rather, the objective is strictly informative and educational. If you would like to contact Rev. Lester, write to her c/o P.O. Box 121, Brookfield, WI. 53008.