Busy as a Bee, Still called to Be...
Friday morning April 22nd at about 1am, I was laying on my newly covered IKEA couch bed breathing a short sigh of relief, Whew!! After a long week at work and every night ending around this time With my small group dinner Monday night for 3 wonderful ladies, Tuesday's unexpected late closing at work until after 8pm, Wednesday night having to drive 35 miles one-way(did I mention in the rain?) to Severna Parks Crisis Pregnancy Center to scout the job for Serve Annapolis May 8th as I am the Project scout and team leader and it was their only late hour evening and I had a Friday dead line. Now Thursday night I finally was able to paint the guest room I was now laying in looking at the final result. I was worn-out and still had a long day at work Friday. Followed by house guests and a day long Ladies Conference at church Saturday, (which by the way I was looking forward to all of this) Not only did I have big deadlines at work where I wanted to do excellently as it is only my second week now in my new office....But past all this I have several more big deadlines coming. There will be 3 big events at work in May with the possibility of more to be announced! But sometime in the midst of all this I need the quiet time to hear from God on what he wants prepared for the ladies to be taught on the August Cuba missions trip! There are letters that have to go out for my support to make the trip, and emails to team members for serve Annapolis......Oh did I mention emails from friends demanding my time and not so understanding when I have no time to give. One even told me I was unreliable, because I did not promptly respond? Any one want to trade lives?? I doubt it! And the truth is if anyone were to list out all they have to do in their busy week, I would shut my mouth and be glad to deal with mine!! Well the truth is, I am already thankful for all that God has given me, and forgive me if this has sounded like ranting and raving! It was never intended that way....I only wanted to capture the emotion that busy lives create so that I could then begin the real reason for my post. As I lay looking around the room I just finished painting and decorating. (nails in the wall, pictures hanging as soon as the paint was no longer tacky, no time to waste!!) Completely exhausted, but absolutely delighted with the outcome telling myself the exhaustion was all worth i, at least until the alarm goes off at 6am!!
My eyes fixed on the shelving and it's decorative pieces I just finished adding, and I read the verse that was before me.....Be still and know that I am God... Psalms 46:10......as tired as I now was be still was not going to be hard at all but before I knew it I was speaking out-loud to God. "How in the world am I going to be still in the midst of all these projects, deadlines, and people YOU put in my life? God did not answer me immediately, I'm sure I heard him burst into laughter at me though! Yes very soon I was answering my own question with the wisdom of his words not my own. I know I was called and placed by him in my new position at work and it's deadlines, the Conference leadership, the Serve Annapolis leadership, and no question about the Cuba trip and all that goes with that. But the painting, and dinners and all the extra I Want Too stuff well, that might be up for discussion. Nevertheless, here I lay it in the midst of it all and God reminded me it was not so much the BUSY BEE syndrome I was in that was wearing me out, it was that the extra-curricular activities were creating extra exertion, which could only be managed by him not me and it was time to give it all over, because the Be Still that I was in need of was on the inside not the outside.......he let me wear myself out so that he could tell me to roll it on him,not so much giving up any of the plans or work but relying on him to work it out so it would stop wearing me out! Don't you just love the way God takes his word and penetrates our lives right where we are and gets right to the point, you know "Crystal-Clear" he clears the junk out and says okay lets resume, fall in behind me and he gently leads the way and definitely saves the day. Friday morning when I woke-up at 6am more deadlines were looming and a whole lot of timing had to converge for it all to turn out right...timing that I could have never controlled anyway!! Needless to say all went well. I was able to end a fantastic work week with a great team of people dedicated to excellence as well, Friday night and Saturday were filled with wonderful fellowship with beautiful ladies. we even stayed up until 1:30 am at our Ladies "Pajama Party" with old and new friends! Saturday was filled with worship, teaching and hope.....today Church was awesome and I turned down a lunch date and even kept from seeing my little Ariana, so that I could BE Still inside and out and just reflect before picking up the new week that starts bright and early tomorrow, By the way thank you for sharing in that reflection, our God is an awesome God, he quiets the Busy Bees and fills their lives with honey that they know not of, he delights in bringing it to them that are STILL and KNOW that HE is GOD!! (emphasis mine)!!
He made us human BEINGS, not human DOINGS!!