Busy, Busy, Busy. . . . But Blessed!
I would venture to say that this week has been the craziest week of my life. If I am not sleeping, I am doing something on my feet. (And let me add that I haven't been doing much sleeping, which means I have been doing a lot of "doing something.") Yesterday, I believe I sat down in my dorm room for a grand total of...10 minutes?
From 7:00 am until 12:00 am, I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. If I could show you my schedule from Monday to Friday, every block of time would be filled with classes, appointments, exams, or scheduled events. If I happen to have a block of open time, it is filled something else that is necessary, like homework, laundry, trips to the library, getting gas in the car, or making phone calls. Let me just say with enthusiasm that Friday has finally arrived which means that the weekend is right around the corner!
I'm sure no one else ever has busy, jam-packed weeks like this, do they? (Can you sense the sacrcasm?!) From the experience of one who has survived a crazy week, let me offer you a little encouragement that I recieved yesterday during my interview for my summer job at Pinecove Christian camps.
I can hardly believe the interview was really an interview for a job; it felt more like a spiritual conversation. For over an hour, I was blessed to be able to talk with a Pinecove staff member about the Lord, His story of salvation, my own personal journey with Him, and how He is currently working in my life. It was the most fun interview I have ever had! In the midst of our conversation, I confessed to the interviewer that I was struggling with my busyness because I felt like I did not have time to do big things for the Lord. She quickly responded to my confession with great words of wisdom that I want to share with you.
"You are surrounded by people all the time!" She went on to explain that in our fast-paced lives, we are practically bombarded with opportunities to interact with people. Relationships with people are the doorways to evangelism, so being surrounded with people and opportunities is the best place to make a huge difference.
Sometimes I get so caught up in looking for big ways to serve the Lord that I forget about the many small opportunities that come my way every day. It is those small needs that often go unnoticed, but it also those small things that really make a difference in the kingdom of God.
I left the interview with an excitement (rather than discouragement) about my busy schedule. I previously felt like I had been failing at serving the Lord because I didn't have time to do anything big, but now I realize that my schedule presents me with abundant "little" opportunities to interact with people and share with them the love of the Lord through conversation and action.
In the midst of our busy, crazy schedules, let's not get discouraged, but rather pumped up about making the most of every opportunity and every relationship. Let's not get so focused on doing big things for God that we miss the small, but significant missions that He puts in our paths every day. That way, when you look at your schedule, you can see something more.
From 7:00 am until 12:00 am, I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. If I could show you my schedule from Monday to Friday, every block of time would be filled with classes, appointments, exams, or scheduled events. If I happen to have a block of open time, it is filled something else that is necessary, like homework, laundry, trips to the library, getting gas in the car, or making phone calls. Let me just say with enthusiasm that Friday has finally arrived which means that the weekend is right around the corner!
I'm sure no one else ever has busy, jam-packed weeks like this, do they? (Can you sense the sacrcasm?!) From the experience of one who has survived a crazy week, let me offer you a little encouragement that I recieved yesterday during my interview for my summer job at Pinecove Christian camps.
I can hardly believe the interview was really an interview for a job; it felt more like a spiritual conversation. For over an hour, I was blessed to be able to talk with a Pinecove staff member about the Lord, His story of salvation, my own personal journey with Him, and how He is currently working in my life. It was the most fun interview I have ever had! In the midst of our conversation, I confessed to the interviewer that I was struggling with my busyness because I felt like I did not have time to do big things for the Lord. She quickly responded to my confession with great words of wisdom that I want to share with you.
"You are surrounded by people all the time!" She went on to explain that in our fast-paced lives, we are practically bombarded with opportunities to interact with people. Relationships with people are the doorways to evangelism, so being surrounded with people and opportunities is the best place to make a huge difference.
Sometimes I get so caught up in looking for big ways to serve the Lord that I forget about the many small opportunities that come my way every day. It is those small needs that often go unnoticed, but it also those small things that really make a difference in the kingdom of God.
I left the interview with an excitement (rather than discouragement) about my busy schedule. I previously felt like I had been failing at serving the Lord because I didn't have time to do anything big, but now I realize that my schedule presents me with abundant "little" opportunities to interact with people and share with them the love of the Lord through conversation and action.
In the midst of our busy, crazy schedules, let's not get discouraged, but rather pumped up about making the most of every opportunity and every relationship. Let's not get so focused on doing big things for God that we miss the small, but significant missions that He puts in our paths every day. That way, when you look at your schedule, you can see something more.
Ashli!!
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty confident that God has allowed us to cross paths for a reason. Thanks for this post. I used to be such a big time blogger but have decided to journal predominately (I was trying to blog and journal->difficult). I'm encouraged and I'm going to read the rest of your posts.
I love the sarcasm. We're all busy; it is really just a matter to how we react to that. We are weak, but praise God for His strength.
Also, I went to Steven Ramsey's lecture this week and it was all about changing the world with each person we encounter. Such a true statement considering that's how Jesus did it whether it was healing the blind, feeding the thousands in front of him, etc.
Love!
"We are weak, but praise God for His strength!"
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder, Kayla. It is such a challenge to react to our busyness with THAT attitude instead of one of stress and hardheartedness. I wish I could have gone to that lecture, but I can learn from the little summary that you gave. May we all learn to touch every person that we encounter!