This morning, I am feeling scattered and more than a little frazzled. Why does this happen? I’m not always sure. This week it is probably due in part to be off schedule with working out (our YMCA is being remodeled) coupled with some of the busyness of the last five days.
Feeling frazzled has a way of impacting everything including my most important relationships. It also has a way of coloring life in general. I can see the negative and others’ faults far too quickly when I feel this way. Yuk..
Just the other day, I mentioned to my college freshman daughter something about the importance of sleeping, eating right, and exercising. (Did I really stay up as late as she does when I was that age?…Probably) Yet, far too often, we don’t realize how tired and exhausted we are.
I want to be aware of where I am at a given moment. While I don’t like feeling frazzled, I would like to be aware of that instead of mindlessly allowing it to impact my world. Being aware of it also encourages me to turn to God for refreshment.
This morning I began reading through some material to prepare for a class I am teaching tonight. In the class, we are using Dallas Willard’s video material based on his book, Renovation of the Heart. There is a portion of the video where he, John Ortberg, and Larry Crabb, are discussing what it means to become more like Christ. (Part of tonight’s class presentation deals with the place of the Word of God.)
At one point in the discussion, Larry Crabb says:
…Can we get a vision that the Word of God can be literally food? There’s the Scripture about eating the Word. I would say in my own experience, the last couple of weeks, I’ve had a different level of experience of eating the Word by letting God finish the sentence, by going to Him when I’m in my need. You hear so often, "Let’s put aside our problems and come before the God." I think that is ridiculous. Let’s come as we are, struggling, empty, whatever, and assume that God actually has a feast spread. he wants to feed my soul, and the Bible is one vehicle through which he feed my soul.
How do you lay aside your need, your emptiness, your thoughts and feelings while you go to the Word of God? While Scripture is larger than me and my issues, there is something about the whole person (emptiness and all) sitting at that feast table that may be an act of faith.
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Be sure to read Mike Cope’s recent post in which he reviews a book entitled, In Praise of Slowness. His review alone made me think about matters related to busyness.