service Archives - Lindsay Ross Blog

What am I so “busy” doing anyway?

I’ve made a new addition for my wall.

I’m putting this in a spot I walk by and look at often in my home. To remind me to slooooooow down.

I’ve been focusing a lot on my WHY. Why I do what I do. What’s most important. How I am using my time. What is consuming most of my time. Am I just busy or am I doing what matters most? And does it all support my underlying why?

What can we eliminate as a family to have less “busy” and more intention? What things will get us where we want to be? And what things won’t?

In his book, More or Less, Jeff Shinabarger says there has been “a recent cultural shift: we now determine the significance of a person by how busy they are.”

Something I think of often: If Satan can’t make you sin, he’ll make you busy. Either way, he keeps us from fulfilling a purposeful life.

If I were to strip the purpose of life down to the bare bones, I would say the only thing that counts is how we treat other people. How we make other people feel. What kind of real, authentic relationships we created. How approachable we are. How we LOVE other people. How we love ourselves. What we give back to other people (time, attention, love).

Bob Goff

Am I available? Am I accessible? Am I present? Or am I too busy doing too many other things (even if those things are seemingly important)?

For some reason, when I (we) become increasingly busy, the first thing that suffers is my relationships. My time for other people, for service, for FUN, for leisure time just BEING with the people I love is often the first sacrifice.

So I ask myself, if a friend calls and needs support, will I drop everything and go? Will they even call me in the first place if they think I’m “too busy”? If one of my kids needs some extra love and attention, can my “to do” list be put aside?

Do I make sure I get quality time with my husband? Do I make sure I take care of and nurture ME ? Do I have enough time, and energy, to serve people around me?

What makes my soul come alive and how am I proactive in making time for those things? The same for my kids and husband? What makes us come alive as a family?

What do I spend my free time doing? And why? Do I even have free time? If not, why? Does my use of time reflect who I am and who I hope to become?

“We give lip service to the idea that people are supremely important. But what does our use of time say is important?”
Jeff Shinabarger

It’s okay to slow down. It’s okay to not be busy all.the.time. It’s okay to take things off the schedule that don’t support my WHY or the goals and ambitions of our family life. It’s OKAY TO SAY NO. Because when I say “no” to one thing, I say “yes” to something that supports my why. Something that matters MORE.

So I’m trying to slow down. BE STILL. Listen. Pay attention. Notice details. Be deliberate with my time. Nurture relationships with family, friends, and strangers. And solely focus on what really matters to me. People. And love.

Sorrow that the eye can’t see.

Here’s something I’m sure of. Everyone has their “thing”. Or multiple things. Those things that make their life hard. Everyone’s life is hard. Life itself is hard.

And one person’s “thing” isn’t any more significant than another person’s thing (or things). We all suffer. We all grieve. We all hurt. We all struggle.

We all long for connection and love and acceptance.

In a discussion about suffering with my friend, Natalie, she said:

“God doesn’t ask us all to walk the same paths or suffer in the same ways. He only asks that we walk in unison, together, bearing another’s burdens that they may be light.”

In one of my favorite hymns we sing at my church it says:

“Who am I to judge another
When I walk imperfectly?
In the quiet heart is hidden
Sorrow that the eye can’t see”

We all suffer. We all grieve. We all hurt. And more often than not, we can’t always see that suffering in others. But it’s there. I promise you that. Sometime’s we think someone has it all together, or their life is easier than ours. Or we don’t understand why people act the way they do, or say the things they say. But I’m sure they have their “things”. And they don’t have it all together. And they don’t have an easy life. We all have sorrow that no one sees.

So we walk together. And lift each other up. And bear each other’s burdens and lighten the load. Because whether we see it or not, it’s there. Sorrow, that the eye can’t see.

Rainbow Loom for a reason.

My girls are among the masses of kids obsessed with making Rainbow Loom bracelets. They got theirs for Christmas and have already spent considerable amounts of time creating those bracelets and rings. I have also been known to whip up a bracelet or two for my two boys who want to be a part of whatever is going on in our house. There was maaaaybe a small learning curve for me. And a few bracelets that spontaneously combusted when I pulled them off the loom. But I caught on. Eventually.

I’m determined like that.

Recently my girls have tried selling their creations to other kids in the neighborhood even though those kids have looms also. I can’t squash their entrepreneurial spirits. Unless they want to do a lemonade stand. And then I’ll squash. I hate lemonade stands. But (almost) anything else, I’ll encourage.

(They crafted their own organizing system out of a cereal box)

Thankfully, I just found out about a GREAT solution for all those bracelets I seem to keep picking up all.over.my.house.

Jen at Upcycled Education is teaming up with AHOPE, an organization that helps HIV+ orphans in Ethiopia, and sending Rainbow loom bracelets to these orphans. Along with a monetary donation (of any size) to help support them.

I’m always eager to participate in things that also involve my kids. Things that help them see outside their little world and become more aware of the needs of people around them, near and far.
I told my girls about this last night and they were already eager to start making bracelets for kids in Africa. My parents served a medical mission in Africa so we’re already very attached to that continent.

My guess is, if your kids have a Rainbow Loom, you have a few extra of these laying around as well. Get your kids involved. Slip them in an envelope with a little money and let your kids see the beauty of GIVING to other kids. The bracelets will be hand delivered by Julie from AHOPE in April.

Love doesn’t just talk about doing things. Love DOES things.

If you want to read more information about this project, click here for more details.