I spent five weeks visiting my home country, Brazil this Summer. When I left the USA at the end of May, I was very, very tired. For too many reasons to mention, I knew I had to stop and recharge. I knew I had to reevaluate my schedule and priorities and, most of all, I needed to relearn how to enjoy life and simply…BREATHE.
The first thing I decided to do was u.n.p.l.u.g.
And I did just that.
Other than writing my newspaper columns and uploading some pictures every now and then on Facebook to keep my American family and friends updated, I spent lazy days visiting the beaches in my beautiful country… eating
(without guilt) the foods that I miss so much, and, most of all, enjoying the people I love.
I won’t tell you that it was an easy thing to do. It took a good bit of convincing myself to let go of my busyness.
I’m kinda addicted to it, really.
In my mind… The dishes can’t wait.
The phone buzzes and I must attend to it…
And, sadly, I often catch myself busier doing the things of God than enjoying His presence.
{Shame on me, I know}.
Even one of my favorite past times, which is reading, had slowly become work for me. I would usually have a pile of three to four books that I was reading… all at the same time.
It was c.r.a.z.y.
And it needed to end.
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21
This verse, hidden in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, marked the turning point. It made me think: “I have to decide where my heart is really anchored… for I know there I will find what I truly treasure.”
Is it anchored in being busy in the Name of Jesus… or being devoted to BE like Jesus?
Is it looking for the approval of men… or quietly making Yahweh smile?
Is it doing everything that people ask me to do… or prioritizing my life, following God’s guidance in His Word:
1 – Loving Him above all else (Matthew 22:37)… {which has nothing to do with Kingdom-work madness}…
2 – Loving and caring for my husband and children… {which must include prioritizing time for them}…
3 – Then (and only then)… my ministry work {or secular work for some of you}…
The moment these priorities get messed up, the Holy Spirit sends us signals… and our flesh responds. We become tired, irritable, anxious, jealous… And that which we are supposed to embody – the Fruit of the Spirit – becomes less and less evident in our lives.
Even though we often put on a beautiful, godly front… even though we may say all the right things and look so very holy and separated from worldly things…. deep down inside, we know it:
We need to go back to our First Love.
Sometimes, that takes more than just reading our Bibles and praying. It takes cleaning the plate. Unplugging, resting, and realigning our priorities.
Because we have to remind ourselves that God will not do His work in the direction of His promises for us, if we deliberately step ahead of Him, doing things that He never meant for us to do, knocking down doors that were never meant to be opened anyway.
[bctt tweet=”Our busyness does not rush God. It just quenches our joy and kills our purpose in life.” username=”PatHolbrook”]
Do you feel stretched to the max today, my friend?
Have you lost your joy, maybe even in the middle of doing God’s work? Or while doing something you used to absolutely love?
How long has it been since you rested your mind from social media frenzy?
How long has it been since you left all the cares of the world aside, and paused to look at nature, enjoy the laughter of your children, or love your spouse in complete abandon?
If it’s been a while, it may just be time to do what I did… Stop, unplug, and invite God into your life once again, listening to Him before continuing on the rat race.
In between silly faces, strolls on the beach, fresh fish and easy conversations with the people I love, I found the rest my body, mind and soul so longed for.
I found myself again.
And my heart, now finding room to breathe, found its way back to my First Love.
In the meantime, this new found peace translated into a new desire to start taking better care of my body and my heart… to laugh more often and even perhaps discover a new hobby.
I’d prescribe it to any Christian caught up in the business of doing instead of being (still and knowing He is God):
Take time to Unplug… And for Heaven’s sake, for your sake, for your family’s sake…
Tell yourself to BREATHE.
You may not be able to go on a sabbatical like I did. But you certainly can put limits on your busyness. You just have
to be willing to openly reevaluate your life and routines.
Life is a beautiful gift… and it goes by so.very.fast.
May God help us all to take time to smell the roses, lest we live a meaningless, tired life, and miss His perfect purpose for us.
Thank you for these great reminders to be still in God’s Presence! (I’m your neighbor over at #TellHisStory.) I’ve been re-learning some of these same lessons as I walk through my own path of Chronic Illness. I’m so grateful that Jesus is faithful to help us with our need for busyness when we look up to Him! Oh, and those are such pretty photos of your time at the Coast!! –Blessings to you!
Thank you so much, Bettie! I know how chronic illness can be debilitating and make it much easier to get stressed out. I am celiac and stress affects me more than most people, so I am learning to listen to my own body as I “grow up” 🙂
Blessings to you! So glad you stopped by!
What a great message Patricia, powerful, edifying and absolute truth. A great message to read as we begin each morning and to read again each night as we finish our day. It begs the only question that really matters: What is my relationship to Jesus Christ? Did I keep my mind and eyes on Jesus and things ABOVE or on things on earth. God is well pleased with you Patricia and I am so blessed to be called to pray for you, family and ministry.
You are a blessing and we are so grateful for your prayers, Walt! Thank you for your encouragement!
Breathe. So important to do and to find time each day. I’m not always able to do this, but when I do spend time with God – walking, talking and resting with him – my days are so much better.
Great advice, Rachel. We always say we “don’t have time” to do things for ourselves. But what we don’t realize is how much we help the people in our lives when we do take time to rest and do things that we love doing. Glad you do that! Thanks for stopping by!! Blessings,
Oh, yes, Patricia, is is so very important to slow down, breathe, and get our priorities straight. God must come first and we must make time for Him before we do anything else. Perhaps easier said than done, but we stand to miss so much of the abundant life Jesus promised if we’re over busy and distracted by the world’s temptations.
So glad your vacation gave you peace and a renewed commitment to God.
Blessings!
It is easier said than done, Martha! I have decided, it is an absolutely deliberate pursuit. If we don’t make ourselves stop, we are likely to drive ourselves mad. Thanks for faithfully encouraging me and stopping by, Blessings!!!
Oh my friend, you are speaking my language!!! Sabbath and Rest and unplugging in order to plug back in to Him… all the Yes and Amens!
Thanks, Karrilee!! So hard to do, yet, sooooo very important! God bless you!!