Stress of Busy Scedules

FAITH AND YOU
More than a few Plain Dealer readers tell me, "Looks like you've been busy."
"Sure beats the alternative," I always respond, very aware of friends who need jobs.
But aren't all of us too busy, at least some of the time? Haven't most of us wondered, "Where did today go? The day is shot, and what did I really get done?"
I have a friend who hates any gap in his schedule. So he packs in the jobs, appointments and phone calls. Then, when something happens to disrupt that plan, he feels frustrated.
But he's not the only one whose schedule seems designed to produce stress. We all do it.
"That's especially true if your job has no boundaries," said Sister Mary Ann Flannery, director of the Jesuit Retreat House in Parma. "Sometimes, I feel like a gerbil in a wheel. I go around and around, and I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere."
When that happens, it's impossible to follow Psalm 46:10: "Be still and know that I am God."
Hey, it's hard to even think straight.
"A while ago, I came home from a long trip and immediately hit the ground running," said Jonathan Schaeffer, pastor of Grace Church in Middleburg Heights. "I was sitting at this event, wondering why I agreed to go. There was no reason that I had to be there."
Sometimes, I do a lot more than wonder. I get resentful.
"Why am I wasting time with this?" I ask myself.
Then the answer comes: "Terry, you're the idiot who made the commitment."
Schaeffer mentioned a concept that I first heard from writer Stephen Covey: "Whenever we say yes to something, we say no to something else."
The idea is that we have a limited amount of time each day. If we get up at 6 a.m. for an early breakfast meeting, we say no to sleep. If we go out with friends after work, we may be saying no to spending the night with our family.
"Sometimes, an emergency happens and we have to drop everything and go," said Schaeffer. "But sometimes I'm asked to do something, I know it's not urgent, but I go. I think about how Jesus often interrupted what he was doing to spend time with people who were hurting."
It's also true that Jesus went to weddings and parties. He disappeared into the mountains to pray. He didn't seem to be in a hurry.

Ephesians 5:15-17 reads: "Be very careful, then, how you live -- not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is."

It's not always easy to know the Lord's will, especially when it comes to our daily schedule. We need to work to pay bills. We need to be with family and friends in need. We need to rest. We can't do it all.
"Some of us do things because we like to feel needed," said Flannery. "Others think we are doing what is best for our kids when we drive them to every lesson and camp and event -- and we don't really spend any time talking to them. It's so easy not to really think and pray about our schedule."

Or to ask the question: "If I say yes to this, then what am I saying no to?"

I once heard someone say, "Every need is not a call."
The point is that while the cause is good, it may not be good for you.
"We can't do everything," said Schaeffer. "We need to give ourselves permission to say no.
"We need to pray about our schedules. What is it that God wants us to do?"

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schedules seems designed to produce stress

especially true if your job has no boundaries  -  Psalm 46:10: "Be still and know that I am God."   

Stephen Covey: "Whenever we say yes to something, we say no to something else."       

"Every need is not a call." 



We need to give ourselves permission to say no

"We need to pray about our schedules. What is it that God wants us to do?" 

Ephesians 5:15-17 reads: 

"Be very careful, then, how you live -- not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is."