What if life was a raft? What if the waterline rose with every addition? Would we keep piling things on as the water rushed over the edge? Would we invite more into the raft if it was already taking on water? How foolish would we look if our raft was sitting on the bottom of the ocean but we were still accepting “passengers”?
At some point, we’d have to realize there is no hope for the raft and move on.
Far too often, this is life.
Ironically, as I wrote the last paragraph, I passed out asleep in my living room. Last night was rough. I was helping a teething baby until midnight and my four-year-old woke me up at 4:45 because his toe hurt. Why am I not in bed, you ask? Because I had things to do!
In the last few days, my calendar looks pretty similar to a game of Tetris.
As part of a sermon series on boundaries, my pastor challenged us to spend 10 minutes of solitude this week – no noise, no distractions, and talk to God. Challenge accepted, I set an alarm and sat on my porch swing. Fifteen seconds later, my squirrely little thoughts bounced around like I fed them espresso.
“Sometimes it feels like my brain is on drugs,” my friend explained as we discussed the sermon from last week. It’s literally running in all directions at once. If you’re a mom, you know how this feels. Somehow Johnny’s lunch, homework, behavior, 401K, ear wax, friendships, grandchildren, dentist appointment and shoe laces can all be in the same three seconds of thoughts while we bark orders for him to get his shoes on as we send an email from our phone because we’re running late.
“I’m just multi-tasking,” you may say. “Leave me and my espresso squirrels alone.”
Sorry, friend. Studies actually show that multitasking is impossible. Our brains just switch rapidly from one thing to the next.
Sometimes I wonder if I’m really winning anything with all the switching because my brain throws random words into my sentences. This week I gave “detailed” instructions for my daughter to please get the milk out of the oven. She gave me a blank look. The oven? Um, sorry honey – the fridge. Maybe I’m crazy – or maybe I’m just juggling too many things.
We recently went to the circus. Those jugglers are incredible. They start with a few things, and they add more and more until you can’t even count the number of things in the air. Sound like your life? Here’s the thing though: No matter how good you are at juggling, you’re only ever touching two things at a time. The others you’re just throwing into the air. While it looks pretty amazing at a circus, life doesn’t do well being thrown into the air.
What if we chose differently? Could we calm the squirrels enough to tend to our souls? Last Sunday, my pastor’s words hit me deeply, “When’s the last time that your body, mind and spirit were in the same place?” he asked. “We need boundaries to use time for what matters most.” What does that look like?
Last night my four-year-old came up grinning from ear to ear on his balance bike while I was weed whacking. He informed me that he was going to follow me around the yard as I worked. Traveling at a snail’s pace, he followed – dimples out – around the whole farm, desperate for time with me.
After I finished, I “should” have run to my calendar’s next demand, but I forced myself to pause at the swingset with my son. That sentence sounds ridiculous, but when you’re busy, you know how this feels.
Moments after that decision, my son was exploding with wild glee as we swung into the sunset together. “Why are you staring at me, mom?” he asked. “Because I’m drinking you in,” I replied to his deep brown eyes.
Eventually, we have to realize that “If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will,” as author Greg McKeown says.
So who is prioritizing your life? Let’s take inventory. What’s actually important? Your family? Your health? How about God? Is going to church an afterthought?
Maybe it’s time to make boundaries and take the espresso away from the squirrels.
Meet your farmer – Liz Gerdes. She & her husband run a farm-to-table raw milk dairy and farm Airbnb in Caledonia. If you’re looking for raw milk fresh from the farm, visit gerdesfreshfarm.com or follow her on Facebook @gerdesfreshfarm or Instagram @gerdesliz for more info.
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