When I was in college, mid-terms and finals were frantic, busy, brain-melting times. I looked forward to those breaks in between when things would get back into a nice, relaxed state of normal.
After graduation, it was a busy wedding. Then busy working. Then busy starting a business. Then busy with a baby. It seemed that there was always something going on – some temporary period of busyness. And it always seemed like I was just a little bit away from things calming down.
It took me some time to realize it – but when I got out of school and into the real world, being busy became the new normal. These hectic periods were not temporary hiccups in my otherwise normal life – this busyness is how life is.
You will always be busy.
It’s not just a temporary thing. When one situation clears up, another will present itself. That’s reality.
Busier as You Grow
One of the reasons you’ll always be busy is because life gets increasingly complex and demanding as you grow. It makes sense if you think about it.
Look at pastors of large churches. Look at CEO’s of major organizations. Why do you think they’re so busy?
As you climb the corporate ladder, as your area of service expands in the church, as your family grows – your responsibility increases as well. Your life gets busier.
Life doesn’t calm down over time, it ramps up.
The Danger of Missing This
When I still thought that my busyness was temporary, I was always waiting to get moving on something. I had goals and activities I wanted to launch into, but I wanted to get through this brief busy stretch first.
As soon as the wedding was over, as soon as the startup was off the ground, as soon as this happened or that happened – then, then life would be back to normal and I would get moving.
But if I waited for things to settle down before I got cranking, I would never get anything done.
If we fail to grasp the reality of a busy life, we will never get moving on the things that really matter. We will be paralyzed: dealing with the urgent matters and not advancing in meaningful ways.
Start Moving Now
My goal in talking about this is not to depress people. It’s not so that you feel hopelessly overwhelmed and stressed out.
It’s so that we don’t go on essentially living a lie: the lie that things will calm down. I missed many opportunities and went down many paths later than I should have – simply because I was so convinced in my mind that conditions would be more favorable just shortly in the future.
If we’re not careful, we could waste major portions of our life. Not because we’re afraid. Not because we’re lazy. Not because we’re chasing greedy desires. But because we’re deluded into thinking that our busyness is temporary.
Effective time stewardship is proactively using the time we have now, not waiting passively for circumstances to change.
Dream big now. Make goals now. Work hard now.
You will always be busy.
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