Nov 26, 2018
By Katrina Goodrich
“‘Crazy-busy’ is a great armor, it’s a great way for numbing. What a lot of us do is that we stay so busy, and so out in front of our life, that the truth of how we’re feeling and what we really need can’t catch up with us.” —Brenė Brown
Lately, I’ve been catching myself responding to the question, “How’ve you been?” with things like “really busy.” It’s true, I am busy. Between working two jobs and family and friend commitments, volunteering, and laundry (there are always mountains of that) I run a thin line between Energizer Bunny, Sleepy the Dwarf, and Rip Van Winkle. Many other people are busy, too, so using this line seems almost like a perfunctory cop-out to me—similar to responding to the question of “How are you today?” with “I’m good.” This is a surface answer—you don’t need to spill your guts to everyone you meet. It’s okay to give that answer; however, what if that’s all the answer you can give?
What bothers me about leaving things at busy is when I try to follow that up with something more specific. I can’t say anything beyond the generic, even if I want to share something more. I can’t seem to figure out anything to say. I’ve been so busy running around doing things that stopping to appreciate the moment or just rest and do some introspection hasn’t happened in a long time. I’m a functional robot because all my energy is going into staying in motion to complete the mile-long list of tasks I have waiting in queue. Taking the Sabbath can help—it’s a time of rejuvenation, after all. But honestly, sometimes that’s just like pushing the pause button or, depending on the week, a different kind of hustle. I’ll participate in the Sabbath but my heart isn’t enjoying it like it should.
We can trick ourselves into thinking we’re really involved in our lives—but if we can’t feel or think beyond the busy, I think it’s an avoidance tactic. Facing our own life and its imperfections isn’t easy. Keeping our bodies, minds, and souls in near constant motion is a great way to avoid it and, over a prolonged period, leads to a sort of apathy. That’s my check: if I can’t say how I’ve truly been feeling over a period of time beyond busy, I need to slow down and do some reflection because I’m becoming a slave to the apathy of busy.
Apathy is not the life Christians are called to live. Busy is not the life Christians are called to live. Enslaved to these things is not the gift Jesus was born for and died to give. When we allow busy to create a wall around us, not only do we keep our own emotions away, but it can also keep other people away. When we can’t extend beyond our wall to know even ourselves, you can bet that we’re missing a lot in the world around us. How can you carry out the great commission when you can’t see beyond what is right in front of you?
With Christmas right around the corner, it is the busy season for a lot of people. There are preparations to make, parties to attend, gifts to give, and family to spend time with. It’s also the perfect time to not let all of that become busy-ness. Take an actual Sabbath to renew yourself with the truth of Christmas, the birth of a baby that changed the end game for us. Don’t let the rush of the holiday season numb you to the hope and promise this season brings and therefore numb you to the new life offered to others through the birth and death of Jesus.
