Feeling overwhelmed? Calendar just too full? Are you spending your days running from one thing to the next, wondering where the time goes? Are you always at the breaking point, ready to scream if you are asked to do ONE MORE THING?
Good. Then get ready to scream, my crazy brother and sister...and add THIS to your calendar.
Yes. I am inviting you to ADD to your crazy day.
You see, I get busy too. And aren't we all so good at being busy? Because somehow, we have all been taught that the opposite of busy is lazy. Uninvolved. Unimportant. The busier we are, the faster we go, the more we have to complain about...and well, in a twisted way, I think we like that. I think that in a world and a life that can often lack purpose and meaning, we have been fooled into believing that the act of being busy fulfills us. Being busy makes us feel useful.
But to who?
I know that when I am running like a chicken without a head, focused on the many earthly things I must do, because you know, if I don't, certainly the world will stop spinning, I am not the picture of what God intended me to be.
I am short tempered.
I am quicker to judge.
I complain often.
I spend more money.
I drink more wine.
I focus on the negative.
I flirt with anxiety and doubt.
I am a crappy wife.
I am an ungrateful mother.
I put my needs and desires of how I think my life should be above the needs and desires God has planned especially for me.
I become blinded by my ego, pride, and desire to be self sufficient, resisting those that offer me help because if I allow anyone to give me a hand, clearly, I am a big, fat loser.
When we get crazy busy, we forget what matters. In fact, we have no time for what matters. We push those we love away because we have these things we must do first; these things that only we can do, and nobody else. We become an island. We chase after perfection. We crave control. We only see ourselves and our plan and we will barrel through it all, doing whatever it takes. And this is so dangerous.
What if I told you that if you went to mass every morning, you would actually have MORE time in your day?
What if I told you that if you spent 30 minutes every afternoon in prayer, your hours would multiply?
Because when you take that all important PAUSE, to hear Gods word, and to ask HIM what you need to do with your day...well...you might be surprised. Because God has this awesome way of ordering things the way they should. God holds your to do list for the day, and it is so much better than yours. God knows what you need to do in order to find what you are looking for. So why in the world would you not consult the one who created you and everything in it and who quite simply, has all the answers?
I want to see us stop doing the crazy things we have been fooled into thinking that matter, and start participating in the ONE thing guaranteed to bring us eternal JOY.
This is an invitation to all you crazy people who are just too busy to add one more thing to your calendar.
GO TO DAILY MASS.
INVITE A FRIEND.
GO FOR COFFEE AFTERWARDS.
MAKE IT A HABIT.
PUT IT IN YOUR CALENDAR.
JUST DO IT.
Why will this help?
How can another thing on your list be helpful?
Well, how about this:
"Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing." (John 15)
Did you catch that?
Without remaining in God, you can do NOTHING.
And aren't we all running like idiots because we are trying to accomplish SOMETHING?
We are such fools. We eliminate the ONE THING from our busy days that actually has the power to get us THROUGH the craziness. We race in circles believing that the crossing off of items on an endless list will bring us joy, when in reality, all it does is bring us exhaustion.
But joy? Really? How will going to Mass bring me joy? I usually day dream or plan dinner in my mind, or wonder how any of what I am hearing matters to me and my really long list of things I MUST get done or mountains will crumble.
"Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete." (John 15)
YOUR JOY COMPLETE.
COMPLETE JOY.
It can be yours.
If you remain in him.
Remain in him by going to mass often.
Remain in him by frequently receiving the Eucharist.
Remain in him by meeting up with good, faith filled friends, with whom you can share your doubts, joys, fears, and love.
Remain in him by putting time with him first on your to do list.
DAILY MASS. WITH A FRIEND. FOLLOWED BY COFFEE.
You don't drink coffee? Well, that is a whole other problem I won't even touch as I drink my fourth cup...but go for an iced tea. Or grab a bagel. Sit on a park bench with a smoothie..whatever! Just do it. Go to mass with a friend, then spend time together afterwards talking about the Gospel, sharing your reflections, opening your heart.
Come on! You KNOW that if Oprah listed daily mass as one of her favorite things, you would TOTALLY start going!
Yes. It is one more thing.
But without a doubt, it is the ONLY thing.
Do it, and you won't believe how different your life will be.
