Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time . . . - Ephesians 5:15

When you ask someone how they are, what is the most common response you get? Most often you hear, “Fine.” That quick retort might mean many things. From the tone of voice you might decipher the real meaning. Here are some possibilities:
• “This is just a social nicety that allows us to move on to the real purpose of our interaction; I don’t actually mean to convey any real information about myself.”
• “It’s complicated, and this is neither the time nor place to go into it.”
• “I’m not fine, and YOU should know that because YOU are the reason I’m NOT fine.”
• “I don’t actually believe you care about my actual life, so let’s just say, “fine,” and move on.”
• “Things are really going well for me right now; thanks for asking.”

The other common response people make when others inquire about them is, “I’m busy!” Some time ago, I made it a point to stop saying that when people asked me how I am. What does it mean to be “busy” anyway? How do you know if you are busy? Is it good to be busy?
I realize some people mean this in a very good way. If you own your own business, you might say, “We’re busy” with a tone of relieved enthusiasm. “Hurray! We have lots of customers. Things are going well!” Someone who has known the scarcity of being unemployed or the doldrums of depression might say, “I’m busy!” and mean that they are fruitfully engaged in productive, meaningful activities – at last!
Most often, though, I hear things that concern me when people tell me they are busy. Sometimes it seems to me that people fill their lives with activity as a way of escaping from troubling thoughts, difficult relationships, fear, and nagging problems. Being busy is a distraction from living fully the life God gave us. If things slow down and people actually have time to think or feel, it frightens them.
Sometimes I see that people are overwhelmed. Day after day, they end the day with a list of commitments longer than when they started the day. Life feels frantic and overwhelming and stressful because there doesn’t seem to be a way to get it all done. Everyone in their lives is demanding something, and it is hard to meet everyone’s expectations. Often when I hear people say, “I’m busy,” I interpret it as, “Stop bothering me. I can’t handle any more. Don’t expect anything more of me. Don’t demand anything of me.” Saying that you are “busy” is a sort of shield of protection.
Several years ago, I intentionally decided not to say, “Busy!” when people inquired about me. Yet, I still fall into the same trap. I feel busy when I don’t get everything accomplished that I wanted to get accomplished in a day and my list for tomorrow becomes impossibly long.
Our Friday mid-day small group just finished reading the book, “Following Through – How to Finish Anything You Start,” by Steve Levinson and Pete Greider. One of the closing chapters suggested that we “date” an intention before we “marry” it. I’ve found that excellent advice. When an opportunity arises, it is part of wise living to spend some time prayerfully pondering whether this opportunity is the right one for us at this time. We might try it out a little to see how much time is really involved, if the activity is really the right thing for us before we commit to ourselves and others that we will do something. We are wise to give ourselves the option of saying, “no” before we get to the altar!
Certainly, we can always look for ways to improve efficiency and organizational skills. But we often have unrealistic expectations of what is possible. Too often, we move through life with a frantic and frazzled demeanor. Expecting ourselves to do everything on our daily “To-Do” list is a little like expecting to drive from Modesto to Washington D.C., in 12 hours. It doesn’t matter how well we organize the trip, how efficiently we plan the route, what breaks we get in traffic and weather, attempting to drive a normal automobile almost 3,000 miles in 12 hours defies the laws of physics. Yet we seem to expect this of ourselves in our daily tasks.
Lent is a time of self-examination and repentance. So if we find ourselves often saying, “I’m busy,” let us consider these questions. Is the life of Discipleship really about being busy and frantic and overwhelmed? Do your family and friends feel neglected and resentful? Do you know your neighbors? Are you engaged in community within and without the church? I think that Jesus did not intend the Church to become a place of burnout. Rather, I think that Jesus intended church as a community, Christ’s body, to help us experience God’s presence, to encourage us to authentically know others and be known in return, and to nourish us for service so that we might make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
We began the Lenten Season on Ash Wednesday with ashes applied on our foreheads hearing the message “Repent and believe the Gospel!” Jesus came to give us life. A real life. Not just busyness.

Walking with you as we follow Jesus,
Debra