© Donna L. Watkins - Photo: Adult Garter Snake
Life happens! All around us events are making us happy, sad, miserable, glad, thrilled or mad. Dealing with all the emotions of life, especially for Christians who want to do it "right," leaves us with a lot of unprocessed junk. Life is too busy. Dealing with issues "later" means they generally don't get processed. That doesn't mean the issues go away, it just means they get buried deeper and deeper as we continue to pile on layers of activities that keep us from enjoying true peace and joy.Security isn't in the stuff we own. Matter of fact most people are dealing with a ton of insecurity because of their finances. The world has told us that more is better for a long time. Now many are deep in debt for things that really had no value, with many of them already trashed and forgotten about.
Children are growing up with an activity schedule that rivals the pace of my days in the corporate world in the 70's. What is it doing to their adrenals and nervous systems? What mental and physical diseases will put a stop to it all?
I have spent a lot of time pondering something I read recently: "Until your misery factor exceeds your fear factor you won't move!"
Why do we fill our lives with busyness? What are we not wanting to think about? What do we fear we can't do? Why do we not spend quiet time alone with God? Many people can't sit in a quiet room for ten minutes. If all the world seems to be crashing in on you if there's no noise or activity, it may be that you will want to do deal with that crash rather than having it deal with you later.
Would raising our children in a more relaxed and relational setting, rather than a running ragged lifestyle, be too uncomfortable? Would it bring up the inadequacies of parenting? After all, we are supposed to know how to do it all, right? If we didn't have parents who had a clue on parenting, how would we expect to do any better? Why bother when you can provide so many cultural events instead?
What is the heritage we are passing down? What patterns of parenting do you want your children to replicate? What message are you giving your children as to what the priorities of life are? Families say they need more "quality time" but even that gets scheduled in. Can you schedule quality time? It would seem the very essence of it would demand that there be a bit of spontaneity in it. In a group of people you would get most to raise their hands if asked if they'd like to have a slower pace to their days.
"Until your misery factor exceeds your fear factor you won't move!"
How much misery does it take to make a change? We've learned to handle pretty much misery. Our reservoirs are flowing over with stored issues to deal with later, but for many later never comes. Even when the body is manifesting diseases that relate back to emotional issues that have not been dealt with, many people would rather handle the disease than deal with the emotion that goes with it.
Pastor Henry Wright's book, "A More Excellent Way," links diseases with their emotional roots. When the Bible says, "Be anxious for nothing," and we live an anxious lifestyle, do we suffer consequences for it? Do we take away God's protection by opening the doorway to the devil in our disobedience of this Word? When Jesus said, "Do not fear" many times, do we sin when we choose to accept fear rather than faith?
Do those sins take a toll on our health? If we are disobedient and rebellious children, we can't apply the protection offered in Psalm 91 for our lives. So, do we take our own course of action and apply activity to our lives so we don't have time to think? Do we block out stillness and quiet because we don't want to hear His reminders that He is still calling us to come. To drink of His Living Water ... to thirst no more. To lay down our heavy burdens at His feet.
Are you weary enough to stop this journey of madness? Has your misery factor exceeded your fear factor yet? How many more burdens can you carry around? Is the load getting heavier than you ever imagined?
Come with me and lay it all at the feet of Jesus. Let go. Trust Him. Seek Him in the silence. It really is an easier journey. Put down the burdens you've backpacked around. The only way to peace and joy is through our Father. Open the latch on your pack and begin to unload it all before Him. He truly is the Way and the Life.
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