The other day, while grocery shopping, I turned down an aisle and faced a roadblock. A two-year-old boy was flinging around on his back. If I were deaf, I may have thought he was in the middle of a seizure, but my ears were working well and I immediately recognized it as a temper-tantrum.

The mom, at her wits-end, grabbed him off the floor and forcefully put him in the shopping cart. He squealed loud and she barked louder (figuratively that is). Twenty years ago my heart would have been with the kid, Poor little guy. What a mean mommy.

However, today it was with the mom. I now have kids and have been there and done that. My busy schedule, lack of sleep and responsibilities had collided and it pushed me over the limit. My patience flew out the door and I said and did things I later regretted.

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I feel like a cranky grandma right now.  The other morning I found myself in my garden getting mad at insects and waving at drivers to slow down on my street.

I can’t be serious? Who am I?! I become a faculty member and suddenly I’m 80? (I might be in this pic)

I am starting to understand why my grandpa watched golf all day.  It was his meditation and escape.  His dream life on screen and his naptime all wrapped up with the lullaby of shushed applause and the melodic “ooohs and awwws” cooing away all that is wrong in the world. Even the speeding cars.

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Does God ever feel silent? I’ve often wondered why He speaks in a “still small voice,” especially since we live in a culture full of noise. I guess it’s much the same with my kids. They have an innate ability to tune me out if I yell at them (they obviously inherited this trait from their father) but when I speak quietly to them they are more likely to tune in.

I, on the other hand, have a hard time hearing unless it’s spoken with a raised voice. The background noise surrounding my life often camouflages His quiet Spirit. Then again, maybe it’s not the noise that keeps me from hearing Him speak. Perhaps it’s my busyness.

Many years ago we lived in Germany and rented an old row house. It was narrow but three stories high and had marble stairs that twisted their way to the top.

Okay, I’m really dealing with the busyness factor this week. It’s a chronic battle. I’d hope life would slow down once summer hit but I still feel I’m flying through life. So I felt the need to re-read and post a blog I shared a while back on our Russell Media site. Hope you enjoy it. Let me know if you have any insights for me and for others! Have a happy and safe 4^th!

I dread going to the grocery store. It seems each time I go I’m in a hurry, with a time limit hanging over my head.

A while back, my kids and I went to the smaller, pricier store by our house. We only needed a few things, and like always, I was in a hurry. The kids hung on to sides of the cart as I darted down each aisle in a race against the clock. I looked like a human mini van weaving around other customers. And then I was forced to slow down.

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Ah, it’s summer! I love it. The longer days allow for early morning runs, evening swims and extended cookouts with friends. For many, it's time to recuperate from the battles fought while helping with homework and the numerous hours spent watching unlimited baseball and soccer games. Of course the extra free time means the kids have even more energy. So, this year I decided to research some local day camps in our area.

OMG! (Don’t worry. “G” stands for Gosh.) There were so many camps to choose from, I was overwhelmed. They all sounded incredible. I was tempted to sign up for all of them and fill our summer going from camp to camp. But the reality of a budget knocked that out of me.

I finally decided on a camp that one of our friends cofounded and co-runs, SimBale Sports, LLC. It’s a sports camp that not only challenges the body but also the mind. It sounded great, so we signed up.

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As my wife and I prepare to take our first born to college this week, we have that oft-asked question before us:  Where does the time go?  Eighteen years - whoosh.  Gone.  Did I spend it well?  One of my favorite books of the past year has been James Bryan Smith’s The Good and Beautiful God.  In that book, he talks about how we spend our time.  We are so busy – so hurried – that we often have no idea where our time goes.  In an average lifetime, we will spend

 

-         six months sitting at traffic lights

-         eight months opening junk mail

-         one year searching through desk clutter

-         two years trying to call people who are not in

-         three years in meetings (this MUST be low for Presbyterians)

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For those of you who follow my humble little blog, you will have noticed that I’ve been absent for the last couple of months. My last blog entry was dated April 11, 2010 and I’ve not been able to get at my passion as much as I’d like. I do apologize for that. Should I give the more and more common excuse of, “Man…I’ve just been busy!” Should I just say, “Work got the better of me!” Or should I just say, “Shoot, I’ve been too dang tired to even do what it is I actually love to do!” Well, there is a little truth in all of those statements and the reality is, the busyness of life can be a daunting drudgery done in vain labor at points. I mean, what are we really that busy for?

Yes, yes, I get the common worldview that says we do this for our family. But what does our family get in return? Moreover, what does all that busyness actually add up to? I also comprehend that having a good work ethic is also good and that, especially for men by way of gender role socialization, work is a powerful tool for social capital and social status. Some of us actually love to be told “Wow, look how hard you’re working! Good for you!” So there is that whole deal as well.

There is also the worldview that says work hard now, and later you can play. Yes, that good old delayed gratification comes into play here. But again, how is the 60 hour work week taking its toll on those latter years in our life? What if hypertension and heart attacks actually hold us back from enjoying those “play years?” Work is good though, right? We all have to do it, right? Well, sort of.

Some don’t have to work all that much, others work for them, their money works for them, their parents help them out, maybe they won the lotto, maybe they’re a celebrity, or maybe they’ve just been fortunate enough to have money coming in. So no, all of us do not have to work in the same manner or form.

But, for the rest of us, work is a reality and the ensuing busyness will demand it’s levy on our life, family, and mind. Is there a way around this? I’m not sure. Here in American culture we have created a type of congratulatory ethos for those who work the most. In other words, we reward workaholics. Yes, yes, those people who put in 60-70 hours, work multiple jobs, sacrifice time and energy for the company, and put in the “extra mile for the team” are given their labor remuneration in the form of promotions, more money, television shows, titles, degrees, and even glory in death (Boy that Sam sure was a hard worker when he was alive; Sally sure did hustle, wish she was still here). Being busy is just part of the American way; we love it; in fact, we adore it. And don’t be in a professional ministry position (pastorate and or a faith based non-profit director), because once Jesus get’s put into the mix, people will work even harder and do just about anything; not to mention get paid little to nothing. One of our close friends, who recently switched jobs because her last one wanted her to put in well over 65 hours a week including weekends on the job, told us that what her last company wanted was basically her life in exchange for a paycheck. Hmmm.

So where do I fit into all of this? Am I somehow above all this and now about to offer up a simple and ergonomic solution to our busyness woes? No. I’m right there in the mix. I work at 6 different schools, teach 7-8 classes a semester, mentor, hustle my books, write articles, and try to get paid to pay rent just like most of us do. No, I’m no better. I fit into the “I’m trying to pay my bills and live my life” worldview on the busyness scale. I don’t have much to offer up other than to say occasionally, every now and then, once in a while, when the moon is right, and when the air is just blowing…I take some time off and go out with my wife; no kids, no connections to the outside world, just us one on one. And you know what we did? Nothing.

Is that the answer? I don’t really know. But the reality is that we live in a society that is obsessed with work and as Dr.’s Roberth Hemfelt, Frank Minirth, and Paul Meier say in their book We Are Driven: The Compulsive Behaviors America Applauds, are we really having fun? I don’t think so…I hope to somehow break this cycle and get back to doing what I love…writing.

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